Motorcycle rider airlifted to Seattle with injuries after Mount Baker Highway crash
A Bremerton motorcycle rider was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with injuries he suffered after he hit a turning car along Mount Baker Highway Saturday afternoon.
Rondole J. Jones, 51, was riding a 2013 Honda FXDWG eastbound on the Mount Baker Highway east of Glacier near milepost 35 at approximately 1:09 p.m. Sept. 5, and following a a gold 2001 Honda CRV. The CRV slowed to turn into a trailhead, according to the Washington State Patrol report on the incident, and Jones’ motorcycle struck it from behind.
The motorcycle caught fire after the collision, Trooper Rocky Oliphant told The Bellingham Herald, and Jones was airlifted with what were believed to be serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Four people from Bellingham were in the CRV, and none were injured in the incident, the State Patrol reported.
Inattention is being cited as the cause of the crash, according to the State Patrol release, as no drugs nor alcohol are suspected to have been involved. Jones also was wearing a United States Department of Transportation compliant helmet at the time of the crash.
The Mount Baker Highway was closed for approximately an hour after the crash, Oliphant said.
According to mt-baker.com, the Heliotrope Trail is accessed near milepost 35.
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
