An elderly retired firefighter was in critical condition Saturday after being struck by a motorist who fled the scene of a Friday hit-and-run incident in the 900 block of Samish Way.
The man was riding a John Deere lawnmower down his driveway to get the newspaper, a neighbor said. Samish Way was closed in both directions for about an hour after the accident, which occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m.
The car that struck him, a white or silver sedan traveling at a high rate of speed, according to witnesses, fled the scene. The Bellingham Police Department is working to identify the sedan and its driver, said Lt. Claudia Murphy, public information officer.
The man was thrown from his lawnmower upon impact and knocked unconscious. Debris from the mangled lawnmower and the car were strewn all the way to the next-door driveway, said neighbor Ken Lingmoor, who rushed to the scene with his wife.
While waiting for first responders called by other witnesses, Lingmoor attended to the victim.
“I went and checked on him,” Lingmoor said. “He was breathing, there seemed to be no serious blood loss.”
As cars began backing up, Lingmoor began directing traffic around the scene until first responders arrived.
Medics loaded the victim into an ambulance within minutes while a fire truck blocked the road, Lingmoor said. The road remained closed for over an hour as officers checked and marked the scene, and towed the mangled lawnmower to the station.
The victim is in his early 80s and is the primary caregiver for his bedridden wife who is suffering from severe health issues, Lingmoor said. The two talk occasionally when the man rides his lawnmower down to the mailbox.
Lingmoor told first responders about the victim’s situation with his wife in hopes that the firefighter retiree association may be able to provide options to care for her while he’s being cared for.
The section of Samish Way where the incident occurred is a heavily traveled, two-lane thoroughfare leading from downtown Bellingham to Lake Padden, mountain bike mecca Galbraith Mountain, and several expansive city neighborhoods.
In spite of frequent pedestrian, bicycle and school bus traffic, the road has no sidewalks nor bike lanes and is connected to hundreds of private driveways with roadside mailboxes.
The section of Samish Way where the accident occurred is midway down an approximately 2-mile long downhill straightaway where northbound traffic routinely exceeds posted speed limits of 35 mph, according to area residents.
Police said the suspect vehicle never attempted to stop or slow down after the collision.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information leading to the identity of the driver is asked to contact the police department’s confidential phone tip line, 360-778-8611, or email the BPD tip line at www.cob.org/tips. Reference case number 22B-08795.
