BELLINGHAM - A 12-year-old boy who was found passed out drunk in the back of a pickup truck on Puget Street was taken to Seattle Children's Hospital on Wednesday, Aug. 8, for what's believed to be alcohol poisoning.

A passer-by at the skate park in the 1400 block of Puget, near Civic Field, saw the boy unconscious in the bed of the pickup about 3:41 p.m. and went home to tell his mother, who is a registered nurse, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.

Medics rushed to the scene, unsure what kind of medical problem the boy was having. They determined the boy had been drinking. Empty alcohol containers were found in the area.

Officers believe the boy's friends loaded him into the pickup after he passed out, in hopes someone would take him to the hospital. The friends scattered "because they knew we were coming," Young said.

Investigators say the owner of the truck didn't know the boy and had nothing to do with the boy's drinking. It's possible the boy consumed drugs in addition to the alcohol, Young said.

The boy was taken to St. Joseph hospital for alcohol poisoning, then transferred to Seattle Children's because of its more specialized intensive care unit. No update on his condition was available Thursday.

The boy's mother, 48, was at work when her son was found. She is new to Bellingham and has been staying with a relative, Young said.

Police are trying to determine who provided the alcohol.

Reach CALEB HUTTON at caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-715-2276.