Blaine woman suffers broken back and suspected of vehicular assault in head-on crash
A Blaine woman suffered a broken back and likely will face vehicular assault charges, after she reportedly drove impaired, crossed the center line along Portal Way in northern Whatcom County and collided head-on with another car Sunday evening.
Ellen M. Bonebrake, 80, was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with injuries she suffered in the crash, which occurred at approximately 7:29 p.m. Sept. 6 near the intersection of Portal Way and Birch Bay Lynden Road, according to the Washington State Patrol report on the crash.
Bonebrake suffered a broken back, Trooper Rocky Oliphant told The Bellingham Herald Monday.
She was driving a 2014 Cadillac XTS northbound in the southbound lanes on Portal Way from Birch Bay Lynden Road when she collided with a gray 2010 BMW X3 head-on, according to the State Patrol report.
A 27-year-old Bellingham woman who was driving the BMW was transported to St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham with injuries she suffered in the crash, the report stated. She suffered a broken ankle, Oliphant told The Herald.
Two 6- and 9-year-old boys that were in the BMW were uninjured in the crash, according to the report.
The State Patrol suspects the cause of the accident to be alcohol- or drug-related, Oliphant said, adding that Bonebrake has not yet been arrested for suspected vehicular assault while she remains hospitalized.
The roadway was blocked for at least an hour after the crash while the State Patrol investigated, Oliphant estimated.
The crash continued what Oliphant termed a “busy and somewhat strange” holiday weekend on northwest Washington roadways.
On Saturday afternoon, a Seattle motorcyclist was airlifted to Harborview with injuries he suffered when he ran into the back of a turning SUV along the Mount Baker Highway. That was one of three serious injury or fatal motorcycle accidents in the District 7 (Whatcom, Snohomish, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties), Oliphant said.
