Medical emergency suspected in fatal crash near Lake Padden

A 58-year-old Woodinville man apparently suffered an unknown medical emergency while driving east of Lake Padden and died Thursday afternoon, Washington State Patrol said.

John E. Waddell was driving a gray 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup truck at approximately 3:22 p.m. northbound in the 4900 block of Samish Way when he suffered the medical emergency, according to a State Patrol report on the crash.

Waddell’s truck crossed the center line and came to rest in the ditch just west of the roadway.

Waddell was wearing his seat belt at the time of the incident.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation Crash Data Portal, Thursday’s crash was the 12th traffic fatality in Whatcom County in 2018 so far. There were 23 fatalities in 2017, according to WSDOT.