Bellingham police arrested and charged a driver who allegedly fled the scene of a fatal collision on the 4200 block of Meridian Street on Jan 6.
Teofilo Garcia Uribe is charged with vehicular homicide — driving under the influence, a class A felony, and a hit-and-run resulting in death, a class B felony, according to court records.
Uribe is being held at Whatcom County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to the Whatcom County jail bookings log. The name of the victim has not been publicly released.
Bellingham police received a call around 9:44 p.m. on Jan. 6 about a vehicle collision with one of the cars on fire. Uribe fled the scene and sped down East Kellogg Road in a Dodge Ram truck, Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said in an email. Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop and took Uribe into custody.
By the time Bellingham police arrived, Washington State Patrol and the sheriff’s office were already on scene.
“The investigation showed the Dodge Ram hitting the passenger car with such force, the passenger car erupted into flames with the driver trapped inside,” Murphy said.
A Bellingham police officer attempted to extinguish the fire but it was too large, Murphy said. The driver of the other vehicle was declared dead at the scene.
