Hiker faces felony charges for Stewart Mountain trail right-of-way dispute with cyclist
A Bellingham hiker is facing a felony assault charge after he allegedly stabbed a mountain biker multiple times during a right-of-way dispute on a trail in early March.
Dake Hartman Traphagen, 69, was charged March 23 in Whatcom County Superior Court with first-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon, a felony, and possession of a dangerous weapon, a gross misdemeanor. Traphagen was released the same day from the Whatcom County Jail on $1,000 cash bail, according to court records.
Traphagen’s arraignment is scheduled for April 12.
“As previously stated at his first appearance, Mr. Traphagen has a very strong self-defense claim which is supported by two independent witnesses who we expect to testify about the attack on my client. Unlike the alleged victim, he remained at the scene and cooperated with law enforcement,” Traphagen’s defense attorney, Angela Anderson, said in a prepared statement sent to The Bellingham Herald. “My client is a 69-year-old man who cares about his community, volunteers often, and has no history of violence or aggression. We ask that people refrain from judgment and let the truth come out through the court process.”
Right of way argument
Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 3500 block of Y Road on the afternoon of March 6 for the report of a stabbing on the Stewart Mountain Trail. Deputies spoke with a group of hikers, including Traphagen, at the trailhead parking lot.
The group of hikers said they were hiking down the trail when they came across a mountain biker going up the trail, according to a previous story in The Bellingham Herald. An argument followed over which had the right of way on the trail. A witness who was not with the group of hikers but who came upon the altercation told deputies Traphagen allegedly said the biker attacked him and that the biker was not following the rule of yielding the right of way to hikers, the court records state.
Traphagen allegedly told deputies he felt threatened for his life and stabbed the victim, according to court records.
Deputies interviewed the 66-year-old victim several days later and were told that in that particular area there is a large tree root that crosses the trail. The biker stated he was not going very fast, but had enough speed to hop over the root, according to court records. The biker also stated his shoes were clipped into the pedals of his bike and that it’s difficult to unclip them at slow speeds while traveling uphill.
The victim told deputies that he allegedly announced as he was riding his bike uphill and asked the group of hikers to move several times. The biker told deputies Traphagen allegedly said no and then grabbed his bicycle’s handlebars and the pair fell over, the court records state. The biker landed on top of Traphagen, according to court records.
The victim told deputies he didn’t hit, swing or threaten Traphagen. The victim said one of the female hikers who was with Traphagen grabbed his helmet and started pulling it, which choked him, as Traphagen allegedly began to stab him, according to court records.
Multiple injuries
One of the other women who was hiking with Traphagen took a video of the incident, which appears to show the victim attempting to stand up while his helmet is being grabbed by the other woman, court records state. All of the hikers are yelling at the biker to get off of Traphagen, according to court records.
The woman let go of the biker’s helmet, and Traphagen pushed the victim off of him. The victim stood up and grabbed his bike. The woman who grabbed the biker’s helmet asked what was wrong with him, and the biker allegedly said Traphagen stabbed him multiple times. Traphagen allegedly responded that “you are lucky,” court records state.
The biker asked for someone to call 911 at least three times, according to the court records. The woman who filmed part of the incident called, and allegedly told dispatchers she didn’t know Traphagen had a knife and she was concerned the victim would pass out on his way down the trail due to his injuries, according to court records.
The witness who was not with either party who came upon the incident said they wanted to perform first aid on the biker, but didn’t feel it was safe due to “the aggressive behavior” coming from Traphagen and one of the women he was with, the court records state.
The victim returned to his home and paramedics were later called due to “excessive blood loss from stab wounds,” the court records state.
The biker was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle due to the extent of his injuries. The man was stabbed five times, and a major nerve in his arm was severed, according to court records. The biker has lost feeling in multiple fingers and was told there could be permanent damage, the records state.
Traphagen allegedly had a spring-blade knife, which is illegal to possess in Washington. Traphagen turned himself in on the morning of March 23, according to court records.
This story was originally published April 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
