Charges filed against Ferndale Police officer for April collision that injured woman
A Ferndale Police officer has been charged in connection with a mid-April collision in which he allegedly drove through a red light and hit another driver who suffered severe injuries.
Ferndale Police Lt. William Houston Hatchett, 45, was charged Nov. 26 with felony vehicular assault, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records. His first appearance is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 13.
Hatchett has been employed by the city of Ferndale since Sept. 15, 1999, Riley Sweeney, a city spokesperson, told The Bellingham Herald Monday. Hatchett is still employed, but is currently on administrative leave, Sweeney said.
The city has put any disciplinary process on hold pending a review of the circumstances surrounding the collision by the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s office, Sweeney said.
Both the city and chief of police declined to comment about the charge Tuesday, Sweeney said.
Around 11:45 a.m. on April 11, Hatchett radioed Whatcom County dispatchers to request aid be sent to his house just east of Ferndale city limits after he received a call from his wife who said she had possibly amputated her finger, according to Washington State Patrol investigative records obtained by The Bellingham Herald.
Around 92 seconds later, when dispatch asked whether anyone else was already en route, Hatchett said he was the only one responding. Hatchett had self-dispatched to the incident with his wife. After requesting aid, Hatchett left the Ferndale Police Department in his city-issued unmarked 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe and headed for his house.
A little more than two minutes later, Hatchett radioed again and said that he had been involved in a collision at the intersection of Main Street and Joe Moser Lane in Ferndale, the records show.
Teresa L. Thompson, 64, had just left the Walgreens on Main Street in her 2016 Subaru Impreza and was stopped at the traffic light on Joe Moser Lane at the Main Street intersection, waiting to turn left. Once the light turned green, Thompson’s Subaru started making its left turn, but was then struck by Hatchett’s Tahoe, the records state.
The force of the collision caused Thompson’s Subaru to rotate counter-clockwise and roll backward to a rest. Hatchett’s Tahoe came to rest partially in the crosswalk on the east side of the intersection, according to the records obtained by The Herald.
A camera Thompson had mounted to the right of her rear vision mirror captured the collision. It shows it was raining that day, and that Hatchett’s emergency lights were on. The camera does not capture audio. Ferndale police vehicles don’t have dash cams, and the city doesn’t have cameras at that intersection, according to Sweeney and the records.
State Patrol investigators determined Hatchett’s Tahoe was driving 59 mph 2.5 seconds before impact, and was traveling roughly 33 to 38 mph at impact, records show. Thompson’s Subaru was traveling almost 16 mph at impact. The speed limit on Main Street is 25 mph.
Thompson’s driver-side door had to be removed to get her out of her vehicle. She suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Several days after the collision, Thompson’s family said she was continuing to recover after she had five surgeries in four days.
Hatchett suffered minor injuries, was taken to St. Joseph hospital and was treated and released the same day. Hatchett’s wife had severed her ring finger while attempting to clean out a ShopVac, but it was reattached and her prognosis was good, according to State Patrol records.
Court charges
In charging documents filed in court, it states that Hatchett “did not visually clear the intersection,” and that he was speeding.
Multiple witnesses said they observed Hatchett driving at high rates of speed ranging from at least 45 mph up to 70 mph on Main Street, as well as changing lanes and entering into oncoming traffic, the State Patrol records obtained by The Herald show. Two witnesses said they also saw Hatchett “floor it” and one “described the driving as reckless,” the State Patrol state. Most said Hatchett had his emergency lights and sirens on.
Washington state law for emergency vehicles states that the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or in pursuit of an actual or suspected law violator, can go through a red light or stop sign, but only after slowing down as much as is necessary.
The law also states that this does not relieve the driver of the emergency vehicle “from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons” or from the consequences of their reckless disregard for the safety of others.
“Lieutenant Hatchett was required to decrease his speed further in order to avoid a collision in the intersection,” the State Patrol report shows.
A review of both Hatchett and Thompson’s 5-year driving records shows neither have citations or collisions, records state.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
