UPDATE: Teenage boy on Whatcom County road struck and killed by passing semi
A person in the roadway was struck and killed by a passing semi truck Tuesday morning in Whatcom County, the Washington State Patrol reported.
Troopers are still working to identify the person who died and notify the family, but Trooper Jacob Kennett told The Bellingham Herald that the person was a male and likely in their teens.
Whatcom County Fire District 1 crews were called to the 6300 block of Lawrence road near Everson at 11:34 a.m. for the report of an expanded traffic collision, according to the PulsePoint app.
Troopers also responded, according to a tweet from Kennett at 11:52 a.m., who reported it was for a collision involving a pedestrian on State Route 9 north of George Road.
“Prior to the collision Troopers were responding to a pedestrian in the roadway in the same area,” Kennett wrote in a followup tweet. “Shortly thereafter the pedestrian was struck by a semi. Sadly this has turned into a fatality collision.
“The roadway will be blocked for the duration of the investigation.”
A detour was set up at State Route 9 and Siper Road, according to Kennett.
“Thank you for your patience and please avoid the area if possible. Our units on scene are working hard on the investigation,” Kennett wrote.
Kennett tweeted at 2:46 p.m. that the road had reopened but that the investigation was ongoing.
The fatal crash would be the sixth on Whatcom County roadways during the first 2½ months of 2022, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation Crash Data Portal. There were 15 fatal crashes through all of 2021, according to WSDOT, after there were eight in 2020.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 12:27 PM.
