Whatcom man suspected of vehicular assault after injury crash results in hospitalization
A Ferndale man reportedly drank three whiskeys before getting into a car, running a stop sign and hitting another vehicle, resulting in the hospitalization of the other driver with serious injuries.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Richard Alan Roddel, 72, into Whatcom County Jail Thursday, Jan. 20, on suspicion of vehicular assault.
Deputies were called at approximately 3:20 p.m. Thursday to the scene of the two-car crash in the 7300 block of Bruce Road, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The investigation into the crash found that Roddel was driving southbound on Bruce Road a “high rate” of speed, when he failed to stop at a stop sign and struck the victim’s vehicle, Slater reported. Witnesses estimated Roddel’s vehicle was traveling at approximately 80 mph in a 35 mph zone before running the stop sign.
Roddel admitted to deputies that he drank three whiskeys before driving, according to Slater, and he was uninjured in the crash.
The driver of the other vehicle was taken to St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, where they were diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, a collapsed lung and several broken ribs, Slater reported.
Roads in the area of Bruce Road and Bay Road/Vista Drive were closed for several hours while deputies investigated the crash, Slater told The Herald in a previous email.
