Person reportedly run over while sleeping in street near Bellingham homeless encampment
A person who was sleeping in the roadway near the downtown homeless tent encampment outside Bellingham City Hall and the public library was run over but not seriously injured Monday night.
At approximately 9:54 p.m. Jan. 25, Bellingham Police and Fire were sent to the 200 block of Lottie Street for the report of a pedestrian-vehicle collision, Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Police found that the driver of a white SUV was parked, nose in, on Lottie, facing the library lawn, Murphy reported.
The driver was attempting to leave the area and backed out of the parking spot, well into the street, and did a two-point turn to head west toward Grand Avenue, according to Murphy. But as the driver was completing the turn and turning toward the crosswalk, they reportedly felt the vehicle hit something, which turned out to be a person sleeping in the street.
The driver stopped, check and found that the person had been sleeping in the street, Murphy said. The driver immediately called 911 and stayed with the person who had been struck.
The person who was struck was checked by paramedics and found not to be seriously injured and was not taken to the hospital, Murphy reported.
The encampment, known as Camp 210, is a group of homeless campers and advocates living in tents on the lawns of City Hall and the public library at 210 Central Ave. Camp 210 was set up in November to protest the lack of shelter in the area.
The city of Bellingham on Tuesday announced that it has informed Camp 210 residents that they must remove their belongings from the area by 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 3:50 PM.
