Bellingham man critical after car hits deer near Westport

A Bellingham man suffered critical injuries Wednesday morning, Dec. 9, when his car crashed into a deer in Grays Harbor County.

Shea Austin Baumgart, 30, was driving a white ’03 Chevrolet Impala south on State Route 105 east of Westport, about three miles from town, when the car hit a deer in the road around 7:45 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol.

The deer crashed “into the compartment of the car,” said Trooper Russ Winger. Baumgart, of Bellingham, was knocked unconscious.

Passengers in the car — Jacob J. Jackson, 21, and Jacob Richard Justiniano, 20 — kept control of the Impala until it came to a halt about a mile south of the collision. Winger didn’t know, offhand, who was sitting where or how the passengers got the car to stop.

Jackson and Justiniano, residents of Friday Harbor, did not need medical aid.

Baumgart’s injuries were life-threatening, Winger said. He was rushed to Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen. Later he was moved to St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, where he remained in critical condition Wednesday, a nursing supervisor said.

Baumgart had been wearing a seatbelt, according to the state patrol. Authorities did not say whether they believe drugs or alcohol were involved.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Bellingham man critical after car hits deer near Westport."