For the second time in a month, a Bellingham police vehicle was involved in a crash
For the second time in less than a month, a Bellingham Police Department vehicle Wednesday evening was involved in a collision on Orleans Street.
A Bellingham patrol vehicle, a 2020 Ford Explorer, collided with a 2004 Honda CRV at 5:27 p.m. Dec. 30 at the intersection of Orleans and Alabama Street.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating the incident, and Trooper Heather Axtman told The Bellingham Herald Thursday morning, Dec. 31, that the cause of the crash is still being looked into and a full report had not yet been filed, so she did not know which direction each vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash.
Axtman said three people — the officer driving the patrol vehicle, the CRV driver and another person in the patrol vehicle — were all taken to St. Joseph hospital for precautionary measures. The Herald has asked the Bellingham Police if the second person in the patrol vehicle at the time of the collision was in custody and for updates on the condition of all three people.
A picture tweeted by Bellingham Police shows that it appears the two vehicles struck each other in the left-front corners.
Due to the collision and the resulting investigation, Bellingham Police also tweeted that westbound Alabama was closed between Orleans and James Street and southbound Orleans was closed between Barkley Boulevard and Alabama until 8:39 p.m.
On Dec. 5, a Bellingham Police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries and a crime scene investigation truck was totaled after a driver, who is suspected of having been impaired, reportedly ran a red light at the Barkley Boulevard-Orleans Street intersection and struck the officer’s vehicle.
The Herald has asked the Bellingham Police Department how many of its vehicles have been involved in collisions this year and how that compares to recent years.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 10:38 AM.
