Family of Motorcyclist Killed at Unsafe Seattle Intersection Settles With City for $6.5 Million

On the evening of June 10, 2019, Jackson Reavis was riding his motorcycle through the intersection of 35th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood. He had the right of way. An 87-year-old pickup truck driver turned left across oncoming traffic on a solid green light and struck him. Reavis, 22 years old, was transported to a hospital and declared brain dead two days later. He was an organ donor.

The intersection had a documented safety history before that evening. The Seattle Department of Transportation had received complaints from community members who described the crossing as a hazard and an accident waiting to happen. SDOT had allocated funding and developed plans to install protected left-turn arrow signals at the location. The project was abandoned. Within a month of Reavis's death, the City began installing those same signals on the existing signal structures.

Schroeter Goldmark and Bender attorney Craig Sims filed suit against the City of Seattle on behalf of the Reavis family, arguing that the collision was the direct result of a known and preventable road design failure. The case built on internal City records showing that the decision to delay the safety upgrade was made despite available money and a completed design. A parallel claim against the pickup truck driver and his insurer remained in litigation.

In March 2023, the City of Seattle agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle the wrongful death claim brought by the Reavis family. Sims described the outcome plainly: 'It took his death to prompt the City to make a simple, low-cost change.' No reduction or remittitur applies; the settlement was reached before trial.

The case drew coverage from The Seattle Times, KING5, MyNorthwest, and KIRO7, each independently reporting on the City's prior knowledge of the intersection's danger and the family's decision to hold the municipality accountable for the delay.