Driver was passed out at the wheel, then he led Whatcom deputies on a four-mile chase
A Bellingham man was arrested after he allegedly passed out while driving west of the Rome Store on the Mt. Baker Highway, blocking both lanes of traffic, before waking up and leading law enforcement on a four-mile chase.
Daniel Szczygielski, 37, was arrested Wednesday, May 18, on suspicion of attempting to elude a police vehicle, driving under the influence, possession with intent to deliver narcotics and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater and Whatcom County Jail records.
Around 1:45 a.m., Whatcom sheriff’s deputies were called to respond to a suspicious vehicle stopped in the roadway in the 800 block of Kelly Road. While a deputy was en route, a second call came in reporting the same vehicle had driven into the oncoming lane of traffic in the 1100 block of Kelly Road and stopped in the middle of the roadway in the 4800 block of Huntley Road, Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
A sheriff’s deputy found the vehicle stopped but running and taking up both lanes of traffic. The deputy found the driver passed out, with their head bent forward, eyes closed and breathing heavily, Slater said. The vehicle was in drive and the driver had their foot on the brake, Slater said.
The deputy saw a bag of narcotics and a shotgun in the passenger seat, she said.
The deputy placed spike strips in front of the vehicle and a few minutes later, the driver woke up and drove off, going over the spike strips in the process, Slater said.
Deputies followed the vehicle for four-and-a-half miles before three of the four tires were deflated from the spike strips and the vehicle stopped, Slater said.
The driver was arrested and later identified as Szczygielski, she said.
Szczygielski allegedly admitted to using narcotics and having methamphetamine in the vehicle. He allegedly admitted to passing out in the vehicle, but said it was due to fatigue, Slater said.
When deputies searched the vehicle, they found a shotgun, 140 suspected fentanyl pills, 3.7 grams of methamphetamine, 30 Suboxone pills, drug paraphernalia and $435 in cash, Slater said.
Szczygielski is a convicted felon and is ineligible to possess firearms.
This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 12:47 PM.
