EVERSON, Wash. — First responders were dispatched about 11:20pm on Friday, October 8th, due to reports of a single-vehicle injury crash at the corner of Nooksack Road (SR9) and Hopewell Road.
According to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol, a 2007 Toyota Corolla sedan was southbound on Nooksack Road when it left the roadway and struck a power pole.
The driver, identified as Maximo Najera, age 21, was transported by a medic unit to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center and the passenger was declared dead at the scene.
The driver and the passenger were determined to have been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. Drugs or alcohol were determined to have been involved in the crash.
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Click for more informationNajera was arrested and booked into Whatcom County Jail by WSP about 4:35am charged with suspicion of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence.
The road was closed to traffic in both directions for several hours following the crash.
Puget Sound Energy reported a power outage was reported in the immediate area about the same time as the crash. As of 8:50am on Saturday, the outage continued to impact 249 PSE customer addresses and estimated power would be restored by 11:30am. The crash was cited as the cause of the outage.
There were also reports of small grass fires about 2 miles to the south in the area of Lawrence Road and Siper Road due to downed power lines thought to be related to the crash.