Seattle Press on Line - Bus Crash "Saved My Life"

Bus Crash "Saved My Life"

By Tom Herriman

Catherine McGarry and Marianne Mullin at the site of the 1998 Aurora Bridge bus crash. The wreath is a memorial from Local 587 for the bus driver, Mark McLaughlin.

Dec 13, 2000 -- "That accident saved my life," said Catherine McGarry, gazing at the spot where the Number 359 Metro bus she was riding crashed through a railing on the Aurora Bridge and fell 40 feet to the ground. It happened on the day after Thanksgiving in 1998.

Three people died in the accident, including the bus driver, Mark McLaughlin, who had been shot by Silas Cool, a passenger who then took his own life. Dozens were hospitalized. McGarry, who was in a coma for over two months, is still recovering from brain injuries she suffered in the accident.

McGarry remembers nothing of the accident, nor even where she was going that day, but she knows that when she got on the bus that morning she was a heroin addict and had been hooked for several years.

As she lay in a coma in Harborview Medical Center, an anonymous nurse, who was herself a recovered heroin addict, recognized that McGarry's unconscious body was going through heroin withdrawal. She alerted the attending physicians, who arranged a methadone withdrawal treatment. When McGarry awoke early in February 1999, she was clean of drugs for the first time in years.

She knew nothing of the nameless Nightingale until a man at a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting heard McGarry tell her story, and made the connection. "My wife was your nurse," he told her after the meeting, and related the story his wife had told him of her comatose patient in drug withdrawal.

McGarry was hospitalized for months after the accident, then was transferred to a therapeutic center in Pacific, Washington. As her physical recovery proceeded she moved to a more independent lifestyle.

After her release from the hospital, McGarry started going to NA meetings. "I had kicked [the habit] before," she said, "but this time I felt I needed support."

Now, she goes to 7 meetings a week, often accompanied by her sponsor, Marianne Mullin, whose daughter is McGarry's hairdresser.

McGarry became addicted over 10 years ago. She fell into a profound depression when her mother died, and a friend turned her on to sniffing heroin. "It took the ache out and put me in a good mood," she reveals. But she developed asthma from inhaling the drug, and switched to shooting up.

She moved from New York to Portland, then followed a boyfriend up to Seattle. At the time of the bus crash, they were living in a motel on Aurora Avenue North. "My whole life revolved around heroin, where to get it, how to pay for it," she recalls.

McGarry feels good about the future. Insurance, disability benefits and a settlement from Metro paid her medical bills and provided living expenses. She can now drive a car, and she has an apartment in an assisted living facility in North Seattle.

She is looks forward to the day when she can get a job and pick up her life, which was nearly destroyed twice ... once by heroin and once by the gunman on the 359 bus.

Reader Comments

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Debbie	Aug 29, 2002	Australia	Farmer
It is a shame that it took such a tradegy for this young woman to be able to get off drugs. She is probably now looking at life with a different perspective now, congratulations to her for hanging in there and seeking help.


Kathy	Jun 01, 2003	Georgia	home mom
I am reading Ann Rule's book A Rage to Kill...I was completely taken by surprise at the seriousness of this crash. I am very happy Catherine is alive and well and clean. I wish you nothing but the best for the remainder of your life.


Germain Wilson	Jul 22, 2004	Toronto, Ontario
I am also reading Ann Rules' book, A Rage to Kill. It is a horrible story, but it is good to hear that something good came of this tragedy. Catherine, I wish you all the best in your recovery.


JB	Jan 25, 2005	Spokane WA	CEO
Marianne Mullin has been a sponsor for many others, I've seen the lives she's touched, and sadly the rejection she's endured. She's been my "sponsor" for over 35 years. She is a builder of souls, and she understands friendship better than probably anyone I know. Few people have made me as aware of my own worth and potential. I am awed and humbled by the way she cares for life's strays, loving the unlovable, and offering shelter to the spiritually "homeless". She's been a force for good in my life, and a tremendous example of love, acceptance, tolerance, and mercy.


marci	May 14, 2005
I know this an old storry,but I just came to read it.Strange how so many were touched by this story.I just want to say,Marianne will no longer face rejection from the members left in her family.I am a very lucky girl (37)to have such an angel like her in my life.


KM	Jun 24, 2006	Honolulu
i still remember the day of the crash, watching the news as i hung christmas decorations. i had taken the route 359 to my brother's house in greenlake earlier that week. a rush of sadness, and appreciation washed over me. then that shooting frenzy at the house party in capitol hill happened just a few months ago. my friend knew one of the victims. another rush of sadness, appreciation washed over me. any of us, or our loved ones could have been on that bus. any of us, or our loved ones could have been at that house. not everyone is as lucky as us - and let us not forget them, ever. we need to take care of each other, because who knows who your kind words might save. since i've been in hawaii, there have been two jumper suicides in waikiki. i wonder if i had ever known them, spoken to them - if i missed an opportunity to help them. congratulations, catherine - hope you're still going strong.