Woman dies after fall from moving vehicle on West Seattle Bridge

A woman in her 50s died Wednesday morning after she apparently fell from the back of a van onto the West Seattle Bridge.

Though police initially thought the woman might have jumped or been pushed from the moving vehicle, it now appears her death was an accident.

According to Seattle police, the woman was a cook and was traveling with a co-worker in the catering-style van, which has kitchen equipment, a large serving window and a door located at the rear of its right side. The red van had the letters "BBQ" emblazoned across the back, a police spokesman said.

At 7:21 a.m., a woman driving west on the bridge called 911 to report that an injured woman was lying in the roadway between First Avenue South and Fourth Avenue South, according to a police report filed in the case.

The witness told police she was driving behind a bus and that the bus swerved; that's when the witness saw the victim fall backward out of the van door, the report says.

The victim suffered fatal injuries to her head and neck and was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center, the report says.

Police found a black jacket, a pair of lavender sandals and an empty biscuit tray near the victim.

Though at least two witnesses stopped and gave statements to police, the report indicates that several motorists swerved around the woman but did not stop.

Police later contacted the driver of the van, who said he pulled over at a predetermined stop near the bridge, where he and the victim apparently were to sell food, and noticed that the woman was not in the van.

The driver, a man in his 40s, "called and reported the victim missing," the report says, but it doesn't say whether he called his boss or police.

He returned to the previous stop on his route but couldn't find the woman, the report says.

The owner of the van contacted police after learning about the incident on the bridge and arrived soon after officers found the driver and the van near Corson Avenue South and South Nebraska Street, the report says.

Traffic detectives are investigating the accident.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com