Tag: I-5

A dispute over dog discipline and a pair of Bellingham pileups


Written by | The Bellingham Herald | February 15, 2013

By Caleb Hutton

All info via police scanner.

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Pair of crashes slow down traffic on I-5 near Sunset Drive


Written by | The Bellingham Herald | December 21, 2012

By Caleb Hutton

BELLINGHAM — Freeway traffic was slow-going Friday morning, Dec. 21, after a pair of crashes on both northbound and southbound Interstate 5 near the Sunset Drive overpass.

Here’s the picture that tells the story, courtesy of the state Department of Transportation.

The northbound three-car crash came first at 11:20 a.m., said Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis. Two people were taken by ambulance to St. Joseph hospital. Traffic was at a crawl for about an hour.

In the southbound crash, one car rear-ended another, lurching the second car forward into a third, Francis said. Two more people were taken to the hospital. Traffic cleared up a bit faster.

Troopers went to the hospital to continue the investigation. More details weren’t available at the time of this post.

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Crash on I-5 brings rush hour traffic to a crawl near Sunset exit


Written by | The Bellingham Herald | November 26, 2012

By Caleb Hutton

Updated at 6 p.m. See bottom of this post.

A rollover crash on northbound Interstate 5 on Monday evening, Nov. 26, sent one woman to St. Joseph hospital with minor injuries and caused a long traffic jam south of the Sunset Drive exit.

At this point, we heard a report of a 20-year-old “slumped over on the ground” at the scene. That didn’t sound good.

But Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis told me minutes later all injuries were minor. One person was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph hospital as a precaution.

Traffic was still stalled more than a half hour later.

Update: Here’s the narrative, as told by Trooper Francis:

A Chevy Cavalier was tailing a Ford Mustang at 5 p.m. in the left lane of northbound I-5, just south of Sunset Drive. The Ford slowed for traffic up ahead. The Chevy didn’t slow down in time.

The Chevy driver swerved left to avoid a rear-end crash. But it clipped the back left corner of the other car. The Chevy flipped and went hurtling into a cement barrier.

One person in the Chevy was taken to St. Joseph hospital with neck pain. Nobody else was hurt.

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Big backups on I-5, but injuries minor in pickup rollover near Nulle Road


Written by | The Bellingham Herald | September 28, 2012

By Caleb Hutton

For update, see bottom of this post.

Two pickups A pickup and a car collided on southbound Interstate 5 near Nulle Road on Friday afternoon, sending two people to St. Joseph hospital and causing backups reported as more than four miles long.

The driver of a pickup changed lanes about 3:40 p.m. without seeing the other pickup car, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary. They collided, and the second truck Toyota Camry was sent off the roadway and into the median.

We tweeted it as news came over the police scanner:

Two people in the struck truck Camry were taken to the hospital. Their injuries were “minor,” Leary said. Nobody in the other truck was hurt.

Both lanes were open an hour later.

Don’t think we’ll get details about the ages, genders and names of the people involved before the weekend. But if we do, I’ll try to update this post.

Update at 7 p.m. The injured pair was identified by state patrol as Dennis Schlecker, 65, and Barb Schlecker, 62, of Surrey, B.C. The driver of the Nissan Titan that switched lanes, Britta K. Lang, 48, of Anacortes, will be cited for a traffic infraction. Everyone was wearing a seatbelt. Troopers don’t think drugs or alcohol were involved.


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Photo: Travel trailer tips over on I-5, blocks traffic


Written by | The Bellingham Herald | July 8, 2012

By Caleb Hutton

Nobody was hurt when a travel trailer tipped over on Interstate 5 in Bellingham early Saturday, July 7, but both lanes of traffic were stalled for more than an hour.

The trailer, shown below, rolled over when the driver of an Isuzu Trooper lost control near the Samish Way exit, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary.

The Canadian couple in the Isuzu was headed back north of the border. The driver got a $175 citation for improper lane travel.

“Plus they have to pay for the cost of the tow and possibly a new trailer,” Leary said. “Pretty spendy for being in a hurry and not having sway bars securing your trailer properly.”

Photo courtesy of Washington State Patrol.

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