Suspected DUI driver reportedly crashes into two Bellingham businesses, destroying one
While reportedly driving under the influence early Sunday, an 18-year-old Bellingham man is suspected of crashing into two Lettered Streets neighborhood businesses and running away from the scene.
The Bellingham Police Department booked Conner R. Mosher into Whatcom County Jail May 1 on suspicion of DUI, possessing a dangerous weapon, hit and run (unattended) and minor intoxicated in a public place. Jail records show Mosher was released later Sunday on $4,000 bail.
Officers were called at 2:10 a.m. Sunday to the 1400 block of Girard Street after receiving reports that a vehicle had struck a building, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Officers arrived to find a Toyota 4 Runner stuck off the ground and through the corner of the building housing Joanna’s Ski Care Salon, Murphy reported. The person who reported the crash told police that the driver of the 4 Runner, later identified as Mosher, had run away toward J Street.
Police set up a perimeter, which located Mosher when he walked toward an officer, and Murphy reported Mosher was arrested without incident.
Mosher told police that he lost the front right tire on the 4 Runner near the intersection of East Smith and Everson Goshen roads, but he continued driving more than eight miles on it, according to Murphy. But when he neared where Meridian Street turns into Girard, he lost control and the 4 Runner left the roadway.
The 4 Runner first struck the Savi Bank building on the corner of Girard and Broadway, taking out two air conditioning units, Murphy reported, before it crashed through a window at Joanna’s, “completely destroying a corner of the building.”
Mosher also told police that he had been drinking, according to Murphy, and a set of brass knuckles were found in his pocket.
