Whatcom sheriff’s office IDs pedestrian killed near Blaine
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office has identified the pedestrian who was struck and killed early Thursday near Blaine as a 49-year-old man from Bellingham.
Dennis Genrich was pronounced dead at the scene after he was hit by a truck driven by a man on his way to work near the northern intersection of Portal Way and Loomis Trail Road Thursday, Sept. 15, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email Friday.
Driver impairment is not suspected in the incident, Slater reported, adding that no criminal charges are pending from the incident.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies, Blaine Police officers and Whatcom County fire personnel were called at approximately 5:30 a.m. Thursday to a single-vehicle, pedestrian-involved collision, Slater previously reported.
A truck traveling southbound hit a male pedestrian, now identified as Genrich, who was wearing dark clothing in an area without street lighting, Slater reported, adding Genrich “was clearly in the roadway.”
The Washington State Patrol was requested to document the fatal crash, and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Slater.
Genrich’s identity was not immediately known, Slater reported, and the Bellingham Police Department was called to assist with identification by scanning his fingerprints.
Portal Way was closed at Loomis Trail Road at the southern intersection, Loomis Trail was closed to eastbound traffic at Kickerville Road and Portal Way was closed north of the scene to allow for investigation, according to Slater, adding that the roads reopened at approximately 9 a.m.
The fatal incident was the second involving a pedestrian within Whatcom County in five days. Early Saturday, a pedestrian was killed after he was struck along Lakeway Drive in Bellingham. The driver in that incident is suspected of driving under the influence and was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Adding those two incidents to the total shown on the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Crash Data Portal, there have been seven fatal incidents on Whatcom County roads involving a pedestrian or bicyclist and another six with a suspected serious injury. Last year there were three fatal incidents involving pedestrians or bicyclists and 10 suspected serious injuries.
There have been 13 total fatal crashes resulting in 13 deaths on Whatcom County roads so far in 2022, after there were a total of 15 fatal incidents resulting in 18 deaths in 2021, according to WSDOT.
