Last updated on April 19, 2021
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Some Eldridge Avenue residents spent the night without power after a car crashed into a power pole, knocking it down across the road.
First responders were dispatched to the 3100 block of Eldridge Avenue about 10:20pm on April 15th, due to a report of a vehicle versus pole crash.
Both lanes of Eldridge Avenue were reported to have been blocked by the downed pole and potentially live wires.
The driver of the vehicle refused aid offered at the scene by medical services personnel according to Bellingham Fire Department Captain Dave Pethick.
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Click for more informationPuget Sound Energy reported 53 of their customers in the immediate neighborhood remained without power as of 7am the next morning. As of 6:45am, PSE estimated power would be restored as of 8:30am.
Bellingham Police Lieutenant Claudia Murphy told Whatcom News in an email the driver had fled the scene after crashing into the pole and a fence. Soon after, the 911 call center received a call from a nearby address reporting a person with a bloody nose was hiding in some bushes. Officer responded to the area and detained a male with a bloody nose. He admitted to being the driver of the car that had crashed nearby.
The driver was identified by Bellingham Police as Cameron J. Waugh, age 22, of Olympia. He was arrested and booked into Whatcom County Jail charged with suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence, unlawful possession of a firearm and for warrants out of Thurston County for drive by shooting according to jail records. He was also issued a civil infraction for failing to maintain control of the vehicle and driving without a license.
This story was updated April 17th with information provided by Bellingham Police.