Tag: hit and run
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Friday, Feb. 15
11:48 p.m. A resident on Garfield Avenue called police to report her husband was missing, explaining that he had left hours earlier for a short drive over to the grocery store but never returned. Several calls to the man’s cell phone had gone unanswered and the reporting party was growing seriously concerned. Information on the gentleman and his car was broadcast, and in about 20 minutes an officer found the man’s car parked on Marine Drive. Hubby was inside, fast asleep. He was awakened from his blissful slumber and advised to head home for more practice at sleeping well in uncomfortable positions.
Saturday, Feb. 16
9:04 p.m. A gentleman parked his car downtown on Peace Portal Drive for a few hours while having dinner, and returned to find his vehicle had been damaged by a hit and run driver in his absence. Police responded to take a report, and a few days later were able to locate the running vehicle. The likely driver was identified, and a case report was forwarded to the city prosecutor for review of charges.
Sunday, Feb. 17
1:31 a.m. A bit after midnight a resident on Garfield Avenue answered a loud knock at the front door to find two strangers standing on his porch. One man was very large and very intoxicated, and the other was more weight and alcohol-content proportionate. The larger man profanely and repeatedly ordered the resident to stop speeding in the nearby alleyway or face deadly consequences, and handed the resident a handwritten note bearing a similar message. The resident advised he does not speed in the alley or elsewhere, and had not driven anywhere at all in the past 24 hours. Police are investigating to identify the maker of the threats.
10:15 p.m. Police were called to Blaine Avenue when youthful street play in a residential neighborhood took a turn for the worse. Witnesses reported that a group of kids they did not recognize were yelling in the streets and disturbing the area. One young man on a bicycle deliberately rode toward an approaching car, daring the motorist to strike him, and he and his friends then began making rude comments to the driver. Another youth began bragging about his proficiency at breaking in to cars, offering to show his younger partners how to do the crime. Officers located the troublemakers and turned them over to their parents, who were visiting a relative in the area.
11:10 p.m. Two young men reported that a resident of an adjoining apartment building on Mary Avenue had made threatening motions at them as they were parking their vehicles in the common parking area. Police contacted and interviewed the person who made the gestures. She denied purposefully trying to frighten anyone and countered that the young men were probably exaggerating anything they might have seen. She was warned to not attempt any more comical stabbing motions à la Bates Motel while standing close to windows that look over the parking lot.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
5:11 p.m. Police responded to an emergency call for assistance at a residence where a person was unconscious. On arrival they found a family member performing CPR on an elderly relative. The officer assisted until medic units arrived. The elderly man had been in poor health and was not revived.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
1:44 a.m. Officers responded to contact the driver of a car parked on 14th Street, after the vehicle’s driver called 911 saying that she was about to die. The lady living in the car said the government had already taken everything from her and was now conspiring with Canadian authorities to prevent her from seeking refugee status there. Apparently she had repeatedly tried to leave the United States but was having trouble finding a country that would harbor her, and felt that the police were among those responsible. She was not an immediate threat to herself or others, and refused all offers of aid and suggestions for assistance.
By Caleb Hutton
Bellingham police released a few new details Wednesday morning, Jan. 23, about the hit and run that nearly cost a Western Washington University freshman her arm.
For background, here’s the story we ran about the crash on Otis Street that sent Mackenzie O’Brien, 18, to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The new news?
- No suspects.
- Detectives now say up to 15 people may have been crossing the street at the time. (As the original story states, Justine Phillipson, the other girl who was hit, said it was a group of 10.)
- Officers pinpointed the point of impact: About 100 feet north of Abbott Street.
- The driver turned left onto East Maple Street.
- Police don’t think anyone else was in the suspect’s car.
- The car should have fresh front-end damage.
- Witnesses are still being tracked down and interviewed.
- People should contact a specific policeman with any tips: Bellingham Traffic Officer Henry Ortega, 360-778-8628.
Also, KOMO News aired an interview from O’Brien’s hospital bed in Seattle. Here’s a link. It’s good to see she’s doing better.
And here’s the full press release from police spokesman Mark Young.
The Bellingham Police Department is asking for your help following a hit and run crash that injured two pedestrians. One of the pedestrians, an 18 year old female victim was transported to Peace Heath St. Joseph Medical Center with serious injuries. That victim was subsequently transported to Harborview. The second victim, a 19 year old female, sustained non-life threatening injuries that did not require hospitalization.
Witnesses told officers that at about 11:00 p.m, Friday night, a group of about 12-15 pedestrians were in the process of crossing Otis Street 100 feet north of Abbott Street. A car with its lights out, traveling between 25-35 mile per hour towards East Maple Street struck two of the pedestrians. The driver continued down Otis never stopping then was seen making a left turn onto East Maple.
Witnesses told officers that they believe there was one occupant in the vehicle, the driver. Officers are still interviewing witnesses for a description of the driver. The vehicle has been described as an older gray “boxy” style car. As a result of this crash, the suspect vehicle will have fresh front end damage.
Anyone with information concerning this hit and run is asked to please call Traffic Officer Henry Ortega 360-778-8628.
By Caleb Hutton
[Warning: Image below shows blood.]
Police are still looking for the suspect in an injury hit and run that almost cost an 18-year-old college freshman her arm last weekend.
Here’s the full story we ran online Monday, Jan. 11, where we went with this portrait Mackenzie.
Her father gave us the OK to run the photo below, as well, to give a glimpse of the injury.
Again, anyone with tips about who might have been driving the car that struck O’Brien should call the Bellingham Police Department at 360-778-8800. After hours, call 911.
By Caleb Hutton
For update, see below.
A suspected drunk driver struck and injured a woman who was walking to her mailbox Thursday afternoon, Dec. 6, leading police on a hit and run chase near Bellingham city limits.
The woman, 49, was walking west across the street in the 4200 block of Northwest Drive, when a northbound Ford van struck her at 3:40 p.m., said Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis.
She was catapulted and appeared to suffer a broken shoulder. The van sped off, Francis said.
Witnesses tailing the van phoned in the license plate number. Law enforcement tracked down a tan 1991 Ford Aerostar within minutes. One side of the vehicle had dents and scratches — but some of those may have been old, Francis said.
The driver, a 56-year-old man with a Bellingham mailing address, was still being tested and questioned at 5 p.m., the time of this post.
He’s expected to be booked for driving under the influence of alcohol and felony hit and run, Francis said. His name should be released in the coming hours.
Troopers were interviewing the woman at St. Joseph hospital.
Update: Steven Gary Fisher, the alleged driver, was booked into jail on suspicion of vehicular assault.
I also corrected the age of the victim. She was treated and released at St. Joseph, a hospital spokeswoman said.
By Samantha Wohlfeil
Via police scanner traffic:
7:33 a.m. Fire truck sent to a fire alarm activated at a the commercial building at 119 Grand Ave. Didn’t hear a follow up.
7:40 a.m. Hit and run at Lakeway Drive and Lincoln Street. Truck and another vehicle. The driver of the car that was hit was on the phone with dispatch while chasing after the other vehicle on Interstate 5.
7:45 a.m. Silver vehicle driving on the sidewalk. Didn’t hear follow up with a location.
7:48 a.m. Reports of an overturned forklift. One 22-year-old male involved. He didn’t appear to have injuries and was not trapped.
7:49 a.m. Reports of a female who locked herself in a business bathroom and was refusing to come out.
7:50 a.m. Fire and medical aide sent to reports of a male with history of diabetes in respiratory distress in aisle one of the Sehome Haggen “across from the Chinese food.”
8:41 a.m. Reports of a cougar sighting at Whatcom Falls Park near Scudder’s Pond. Didn’t hear any follow up.
9:10 a.m. Man called in upset about a portable basketball hoop in his cul-de-sac on Glenmore Street in Ferndale. More chatter about the hoop around 10:23 a.m.
9:12 a.m. “There’s a dead pigeon between AI and AW. It’s, uh, getting picked apart by crows.” Sounds like the walkway between the Academic Instructional Center and Academic West at Western Washington University.
9:30 a.m. Welfare check at Westview Condos in Bellingham. There was a 911 hangup. “Sounds like a phone problem.”
10:35 a.m. Aide dispatched to a retirement home on Riverview Road for reports of a 65-year-old female who fell.
10:55 am. Reports of an erratic driver in a silver Toyota Avalon westbound on Lakeway Drive.
11:47 a.m. A teller at the drive through for Chase Bank at 3110 Woburn Street called to report a man in a green Ford Explorer who was unable to navigate the drive through. He told the teller he had a stroke last night, then drove away. Police were trying to locate the vehicle.
By Caleb Hutton
Via scanner traffic:
7 p.m.-ish: Man seen urinating outside near Bellingham Towers, 119 N. Commercial Street. Then he crossed the street to go watch “Cinderella” at the Mount Baker Theatre.
8 p.m.-ish: Hit and run in an alley behind Tokyo House, 1222 N. Garden Street. Parked car got hit.
8:50 p.m.: Man heard neighbor firing 30 to 50 large-caliber rounds fired in 3100 block of Brown Road, west of Ferndale.
9 p.m.: Five boys spotted spray painting graffiti in a bathroom in Roosevelt Park. At least two got caught. One of them is 12 years old.
“There’s painting on the wall and these two have paint on their fingers,” officer says over radio.
9:25 p.m.: Gray four-door sedan with broken-out windows parked at dentist’s office on Meridian Street. One person in the sedan. “No one’s supposed to be there,” dispatcher said, so the caller wants the occupant moved along.
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