Motorcyclist hospitalized after Birch Bay crash

A Blaine motorcyclist is being treated at the hospital for injuries sustained in a car accident at Blaine and Anderson roads on the afternoon of June 6.

The driver of a gray 1998 Ford F150 failed to stop at a stop sign as he turned from the eastbound lane of Anderson Road onto Blaine Road around 3 p.m. June 6, according to a Washington State Patrol (WSP) release. The truck hit the front of a black 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle driving southbound on Blaine Road. The motorcyclist came to rest on the truck’s hood, with both vehicles blocking the intersection.  

The motorcyclist, 58, was transported to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Bellingham. PeaceHealth spokesperson Beverly Mayhew said the patient was in critical condition as of June 7.

Though both vehicles were totaled, the WSP memo showed the truck’s driver and passenger were wearing seatbelts and unharmed. No drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident, according to WSP.

WSP trooper Kelsey Harding said in an email that the truck’s driver will be cited for the cause of the collision because he failed to stop at the stop sign.

Harding said it was unlikely that the driver would face criminal charges because he was not impaired nor driving recklessly. Harding said failing to stop at a stop sign is negligent but reckless driving would require more unsafe driving behavior that disregards other’s safety. 

The truck’s driver was booked into Whatcom County Jail after the accident on a warrant for arrest, Harding said. As of June 7, the driver remains in jail without bail set for possession of stolen property in the second-degree, theft in the second-degree and ID theft in the first-degree, according to jail data. Under Washington state law, second-degree possession of stolen property means the property value was over $750 and second-degree theft means the property value was between $750 and $5,000.