State Patrol believes Bellingham motorcyclist was going too fast on Chuckanut Drive

A 66-year-old Bellingham motorcyclist was taken to St. Joseph hospital with injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident Sunday evening along Chuckanut Drive.

Dana Hiler was riding a Maroon 2011 Harley Davidson Street Glider northbound at 7:45 p.m. near milepost 10, approximately 13 miles south of Bellingham, when the brakes locked up while negotiating a curve, according to a Washington State Patrol report on the crash. The motorcycle left and reentered the roadway, coming to rest on its side.

The State Patrol cited speed as the cause of the crash.

Hiler and his female passenger from California, who was uninjured in the crash, were both wearing helmets. Hiler was listed in serious condition at St. Joseph hospital.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Crash Data Portal, it is the second serious injury crash involving a motorcycle along Chuckanut Drive in 2018, and like Sunday’s crash, it occurred in Skagit County. Since 2010, there have been two fatal accidents involving motorcycles along the scenic stretch of State Route 11 — one in 2012 and one in 2015 — and both were in Skagit County.

This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 8:34 AM.