May, 11, 2008
PUBLIC SAFETY
Pickup jumps curb, hits 2 cars on Railroad Ave.
Truck driver, passenger transported to hospital; cars were unoccupied
ANDY BRONSON THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
After allegedly running through an intersection and bouncing off a tree, a Dodge truck sits on its side as witnesses to the accident, Scott Fontaine and Amber Dawn Hallet, fill out police forms on Railroad Avenue in Bellingham May 10, 2008. The driver and passenger in the truck were transported to the hospital and no other injuries were reported.
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ISABELLE DILLS
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
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BELLINGHAM — A white Dodge pickup allegedly sped north across the intersection of Railroad Avenue and East Chestnut Street, hitting a curb and going airborne before smashing into two parked vehicles around 1:45 p.m. Saturday.
The driver of the pickup, George Michael Nelson, 70, Sudden Valley, and his passenger, Ronald A. Redman, 66, were treated by paramedics before being taken to St. Joseph Hospital.
Their conditions were not immediately available.
The pickup was parallel parked on Railroad Avenue by Depot Market Square when it went into reverse and hit the car parked behind it, according to Amber Dawn Hallet, who was running the Cascadia Mushrooms booth at the market.
The pickup then sped forward, with wheels screeching, and drove straight through the stop sign and across East Chestnut Street, Hallet said.
Bruce Kraig, who was standing in front of La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza, said he guessed the pickup was going about 50 miles per hour as it sped through the intersection.
The pickup tried to veer to the right side of the road on Railroad Avenue, but instead hit the curb of the center median, went airborne and smashed into two parked vehicles, Kraig said.
A black Mercedes Benz ML500 and red Hyundai Santa Fe parked near Benchmark Document Solutions were pushed up onto the curb, their back ends smashed, with glass strewn over the street and sidewalk.
Both vehicles were unoccupied at the time of the crash, according to Bellingham Police Sgt. Mike Johnston.
Behind the two vehicles, the white Dodge pickup lay on its left side.
Ed Gulyas said he saw an unidentified man smash the windows of the pickup to get the occupants out of the vehicle, bloodying his hand by doing so.
Johnston said the collision caused Redman, who was not wearing a seatbelt, to fall on top of Nelson when the truck flipped over. No other people had come forward with injuries, and it is assumed that no one else was injured in the accident, Johnston said.
Nelson, who had to be given oxygen after the collision, told police he blacked out after reversing into the car parked on Railroad Avenue and didn’t remember anything that happened, Johnston said.
Johnston said the influence of drugs or alcohol is not suspected at this time.
The case is still under investigation and it is unknown what charges if any Nelson may face, Johnston said.
