Deadly crash ‘something you see in Hollywood, but this was reality, and it was so sad’
The Washington State Patrol continues to investigate what caused Friday night’s fiery two-car crash along northbound Interstate 5 near the Sunset Drive exit that resulted in the death of two Bellingham teenagers.
“It’s terribly sad,” Trooper Heather Axtman told The Bellingham Herald Monday. “We have no idea what was going on in the vehicle at the time.”
Driver Karnveer S. Hundal, 19, and passenger Manbir Singh, 18, both died at the scene Dec. 13 after the black 2015 Audi S4 they were in rear-ended a gray 2009 BMW X6 at approximately 10:09 p.m. near milepost 254, according to the State Patrol release on the incident.
“We don’t know how fast the Audi was driving,” Axtman said. “We know the BMW was at freeway speed, which is (60) mph there, and the Audi slammed pretty hard into it — so we know it was traveling at well above (60) mph at the time.”
Axtman said the BMW had its lights on at the time of the collision, so it’s also not known why the crash occurred. She added that it will be a while before toxicology reports come back on Hundal.
After hitting the back of the BMW, the Audi veered to the right, left the roadway and caught fire, the release said.
“That is not very common,” Axtman said. “I’ve been at several car fires, but those are different. Seeing one after a crash is not real common. I have no explanation for it. That’s something you see in Hollywood, but this was reality and it was so sad. That car burned down to the metal.
“The speed that they had to be going to rear-end somebody and deflect off like it did and then catch fire — it was obviously above (60) mph.”
The BMW had three Vancouver, B.C., residents in it, including a 7-year-old old girl who was injured in the crash, according to the report. Axtman said that injury was to the girl’s shoulder and was considered relatively minor.
“We’re really lucky more people weren’t hurt or worse in this one,” Axtman said.
Hundal and Singh were the second and third people to die last week along a one-mile stretch of northbound I-5 through Bellingham. On Dec. 10, a 54-year-old homeless man, who has not yet been identified, was struck and killed by two cars near the Iowa Street exit hours after troopers had warned him about the dangers of walking along the freeway.
Last week’s deaths bring to 18 the number of people killed on Whatcom County roads so far in 2019, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation Crash Portal. That number is up from the 13 deaths the county saw in 2018 but still behind the 24 of 2017.
“You hate to see injury or fatal crashes any time of year, but it’s especially tragic this time of year,” Axtman told The Herald. “Families are gathering, and no matter what holiday you’re celebrating, it’s time to be with your family and reflect on the year you’ve had. It just hits at the heartstrings when you see something like this occur.
“So our message is go, enjoy the holiday, enjoy the holiday parties and have a wonderful time. But we urge you — we beg you — to do it responsibly and pick a designated driver or use a rideshare and make wise decisions.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Deadly crash ‘something you see in Hollywood, but this was reality, and it was so sad’."
