New Year’s Eve car crash involves Blaine officer

By Stefanie Donahue

Two cars, one a Blaine Police Department cruiser, were totaled in a collision on New Year’s Eve on State Route 543 in Blaine.

According to a Washington State Patrol (WSP) report, Blaine police officer Michael Munden was driving a marked police cruiser north on State Route 543 around 2:30 p.m. on December 31 and was involved in a collision with a red minivan driven by Delta, BC resident Kenneth Wu, who was also driving north in the same lane.

Munden reportedly attempted to pull a U-turn by turning into the right lane and immediately turned left and was hit by Wu. WSP spokesperson Heather Axtman said, “The vehicles nearly collided headlight-to-headlight in a head-on fashion.”

Munden sustained minor injury and was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center as a precaution. Wu left the scene uninjured, according to WSP.

Blaine police lieutenant Ryan King said he expects Munden to return to work this week and that the department will have a new police cruiser on the road within a few weeks. The Blaine Police Department’s fleet contains 13 cruisers, he said.