Tag: Washington State Patrol
By Caleb Hutton
NOOKSACK — A driver accused of causing a three-car crash with injuries on East Badger Road was booked into jail Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 6, on suspicion of vehicular assault.
State troopers don’t believe Norberto Bravo-Vasquez, 56, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when his 2000 Chevy Blazer barreled through a stop sign and collided with an Acura RDX, injuring three people, including himself, earlier this week at the intersection of East Badger and Van Buren roads, north of Nooksack. (Here’s a link to the full story.)
But detectives allege he showed “disregard for the safety of others” when he ran the stop sign, said Trooper Mark Francis. The speed he was travelling and many other details about the crash have yet to come out.
Two Chilliwack, B.C., women — aged 57 and 58 — were treated at St. Joseph hospital for serious injuries after the Monday morning crash.
Bravo-Vasquez wasn’t wearing and seatbelt. He was ejected from the SUV and rushed to the hospital, where he’s been since then. A trooper drove him to jail Wednesday afternoon.
By Caleb Hutton
A Washington State Patrol trooper won’t be charged with a crime after crashing into a Vietnamese man in Mount Vernon, killing him, the Skagit Valley Herald reported.
Hong Dinh Nguyen, 26, of Vietnam, died late Aug. 14, 2012, in Mount Vernon, when he was struck by a cruiser driven by Trooper Mark Francis on a southbound Interstate 5 off-ramp.
Here’s two-fifths of the (Skagit) Herald’s story.
Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich announced in a statement Monday that he will not pursue charges against a state trooper involved in a pedestrian fatality in August.
Hong Dinh Nguyen of Vietnam was killed the evening of Aug. 14 in Mount Vernon when he was hit by a patrol car leaving southbound Interstate 5 on the off-ramp to College Way.
From a story we printed in late August:
Nguyen was hit when he crossed in front of Trooper Mark Francis’ patrol car about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, on the southbound East College Way exit, according to a report from Trooper Keith Leary. Francis and another trooper were in the process of turning around to respond to a call on northbound Interstate 5, according to the report.
Nguyen died at the scene. The cause of death was blunt force injury to the head, Skagit Deputy Coroner Bob Clark said.
Both the Mount Vernon Police Department and Washington State Patrol are investigating the incident.
Francis was not placed on administrative leave after Nguyen’s death. He has served as a state patrol spokesman since late November.
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 Caleb Hutton
A woman suffered minor injuries after running a red light and striking two cars Thursday afternoon, Dec. 6, on Guide Meridian, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The 24-year-old woman was driving a Toyota Echo south on the Guide when she didn’t stop for a red light at 12:05 p.m. in the intersection at West Laurel Road, said Trooper Mark Francis.
She hit an westbound Ford pickup, flinging the Toyota into a westbound Nissan Pathfinder that was about to turn left (north), Francis said.
The woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution. The drivers of the Ford and the Nissan — a 33-year-old Ferndale man and a 73-year-old Everson man, respectively — didn’t need to go to the hospital. Nobody else was involved.
Francis didn’t have the woman’s name offhand, but expected she would be cited. She’s from Whatcom County. Drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor. Troopers aren’t sure why she ran the light.
Traffic was blocked for about an hour.
Here’s the news stream from the @bhamcrime Twitter account.
T-bone crash at Guide Meridian and W Laurel. No word yet on injuries, but EMTs and @wastatepatrol troopers are on their way. #Bellingham
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
And now dispatchers say people are possibly trapped in the Guide Meridian crash. #Bellingham
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
Firefighter at Guide crash: “Appears to be a three-car (crash). Moderate damage to two vehicles, and major damage to one vehicle.”
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
At Guide crash, driver’s side damage to a Nissan Pathfinder. A Toyota Echo has a front wheel that won’t roll.
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
Two people have significant but not life-threatening injuries in Guide crash. #Bellingham
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
As of 5 minutes ago, crash at Guide & Laurel is no longer blocking, trooper says. Driver ran red light. She was the only one hurt.
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) December 6, 2012
By Caleb Hutton
BELLINGHAM — A cab ride turned into a robbery early Thursday, Nov. 15, when a passenger swore and screamed at the driver, then took her cell phone as she called 911, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver picked up Matthew Alan Bentley, 26, from a downtown Bellingham bar about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, said Sgt. Larry Flynn. His destination was on Marine Drive.
During the ride, Bentley’s “unruly” behavior unnerved the driver: He was screaming, swearing and threatening her, Flynn said. The woman cut the route short and drove toward a convenience store along Bennett Drive, where people might be at that time of night, and called 911.
Bentley snatched the phone from her, Flynn said. The frightened woman thought he was going to strike her with it. She honked her horn at a passing state trooper, then ran out of the cab. The man ran out too.
The suspect tumbled over a guard rail, into an embankment full of blackberry bushes. He was still holding the cell phone, with the open line still audible at the 911 dispatch center.
Deputies arrested Bentley at gunpoint. He was booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree robbery and third-degree assault. The assault was a felony because the woman was driving a cab at the time.
The phone was recovered from the bushes and returned to the victim.
Bentley has felonies on his court record for theft and possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana.
By Caleb Hutton
A crash on Slater Road sent one person to St. Joseph hospital as a precaution Tuesday, Oct. 23, but details were scarce the following day.
Here’s what we heard over the police scanner at about 5:30 p.m.
Two-car crash at S Red River and Slater. “We’re gonna need two aid cars.” Cuts to woman’s face & body; man has chest pain. #ferndale
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) October 24, 2012
Intersection of Haxton & Slater getting shut down to traffic. #ferndale
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) October 24, 2012
@bdokurno22 See earlier [t]weet. Two-car crash. Heavy front-end damage. One man, one woman hurt.
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) October 24, 2012
(Sorry about the typo in that last tweet.)
I talked with Washington State Patrol Leary this morning. He didn’t have the paperwork in front of him and the crash investigator has since gone off duty, so Leary couldn’t pass along much info.
But he said only one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Traffic on Slater was rerouted for a little more than an hour.
By Caleb Hutton
The (Everett) Herald has the story.
ARLINGTON — A 23-year-old Tulalip woman was struck and killed early Tuesday morning while reportedly attempting to walk across southbound I-5 near Arlington.
It happened about 12:40 a.m., near where the highway crosses the Stillaguamish River.
…
(The woman, identified as Tara R. Olson,) reportedly drove away from the scene of (an earlier) crash. She was southbound on the highway when she got out of her van and began walking for an unknown reason, Leary said.
Olson was struck by a Ferndale man, 26, driving a Toyota Celica, police said. She died at the scene. The Ferndale man was not injured.
Troopers believe she may have been drinking, according to the Everett newspaper.
By Caleb Hutton
Headline pretty much sums it up.
Nobody had been charged in this crash on Chuckanut Drive as of Saturday afternoon, Aug. 18, said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Kirk Rudeen.
By Caleb Hutton
A crash on southbound Interstate 5 near the Slater Road exit Saturday afternoon, Aug. 18, left one person with minor injuries and slowed traffic.
Report of teen injured but conscious in southbound I-5 crash, south of Slater Road exit. See
@wsdot_traffic cams. ow.ly/d46n4— Bellingham Herald (@BhamHerald) August 18, 2012
Over the police scanner, I heard an 18-year-old man had suffered an injury to his head and was bleeding, but he was conscious.
As bad as that might sound at first blush, a hurried Washington State Patrol trooper told me the injuries were minor. If the teen was taken to the hospital, it would have only been as a precaution, said Sgt. Kirk Rudeen.
Nonethless, the crash stalled traffic for at least a half an hour. Within a few minutes the right lane was reopened, and cars were able to crawl through.
Department of Transportation cams showed a big traffic jam, backed up past the Smith Road overpass. And on the scanner, it sounded like there was a “fender bender” at the same time on that very overpass.
If we end up getting a media release about the freeway crash, I’ll update this post.
By Samantha Wohlfeil
BLAINE – A Washington State Patrol trooper saved a seagull sitting on the center line of Interstate 5 from an unpleasant fate Monday, July 30.
The gull had a broken wing and was unable to leave the freeway about 1/4 mile south of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Trooper Bart Maupin rescued the bird and put it in the back of his patrol car.
While en route to the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Deming, Maupin told the bird to move to the shoulder or nearest branch next time to avoid getting hit.
The bird got a taste of a day in the life of the state patrol when Maupin had to interrupt their trip to the wildlife center to assist another trooper with locating a driver who ran during an arrest. The gull got to enjoy the view from the back of the patrol car while Maupin and the trooper located the suspect.
It’s unknown how long it will take for the wing to heal.
Below, a picture of Maupin and his new feathered friend:
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