NOOKSACK — Three people were hurt in a three-car crash Monday morning, Feb. 4, when a driver ran a stop sign on East Badger Road, according to state troopers.
The driver of a southbound Chevrolet Blazer — Norberto Bravo-Vasquez, 56 — didn’t stop at the intersection with a two-way stop at Van Buren Road and slammed into an Acura headed west at 11:24 a.m., said Washington State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary. An eastbound Jeep Cherokee, slowing to turn left onto Van Buren, was struck head-on by the Acura.
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, but all were urgent enough that they needed immediate treatment at St. Joseph hospital.
The Chevrolet spun out of control into a tree north of the crash scene. Bravo-Vasquez was thrown from his SUV.
A Ferndale woman, 32, driving the Jeep and her two sons — aged 2 and 5 — were not hurt, Leary said. The boys were restrained properly. Two women in the Acura, who were from Chilliwack, B.C., were taken to the hospital.
Traffic was blocked for five hours during an investigation. Troopers don’t believe alcohol or drugs were involved.
Leary said the Chevrolet driver will face infractions for failing to stop at the stop sign, and possibly negligent driving in the second degree.
The driver and passengers in the Jeep were not injured. The story and headline were corrected Feb. 5, 2013.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
