WSP

The large speaker inside the Datsun flew forward in the crash and struck the driver in the neck.

SEATTLE - A 27-year-old Redmond man was left paralyzed after the car he was driving was rear-ended and a non-mounted speaker in his car flew forward and hit him, breaking his neck.

The Washington State Patrol says the man was driving a Datsun 240Z and was stopped at the ramp meter light on the NE 70th ramp to northbound I-405 on Saturday afternoon when a second man driving a Ford F250 pickup failed to stop for the meter light and ran into the Datsun at a high rate of speed.

The impact of the crash caused a speaker in the Datsun to fly forward, striking the driver and breaking his neck. He was left a quadraplegic and remains in serous condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The driver of the Ford, a 40-year-old Bothell man, was not injured. The truck he was driving is owned by Intrastate Painting Corporation in Seattle.

The collision remains under investigation. 

The State Patrol is urging people to be cautious when mounting speakers or other devices in vehicles. They say appropriate brackets designed to withstand sudden stops or impacts should be used.