Driver arrested for vehicular assault, DUI after 3 others injured in I-5 wreck in Whatcom
Robert T. Dodge, 54 of Ferndale, was booked into Whatcom County jail Saturday, Jan. 21, for five charges related to a wreck Friday night on Interstate 5 in Ferndale.
Four people were injured about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 when Dodge allegedly attempted to avoid Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies and hit an SUV that rolled off the freeway at Smith Road, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Dodge was being held without bail, according to the online booking log, for vehicular assault, DUI, attempting to elude a police vehicle, reckless driving and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Dodge was “fleeing a previously attempted traffic stop” in a gray 2014 Toyota Sienna minivan that was reported as stolen, according to the state patrol’s news release in an earlier Bellingham Herald story.
Dodge and Heiner Nunez, 27, the driver of the black 2019 Nissan Rogue SUV, were injured in the wreck and were listed in satisfactory condition at St. Joseph, Saturday, Jan. 21, according to an email from a hospital spokeswoman.
Two passengers with Nunez, Dina L. Garcia, 28 of Ferndale, and an unnamed 11-month-old boy, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Harborview did not respond to requests for their conditions.
Both vehicles were totaled, according to the state patrol.
