Truck Pulled From Bellingham Bay After Ramp Plunge

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A truck was recovered from Bellingham Bay Wednesday after its owner told Bellingham police they had driven the vehicle off a boat ramp and into the water in Fairhaven on Monday evening.

This Crash Report is sponsored by CrashLaw.NET, a legal resource for crash victims in Whatcom County.

Bellingham Police Department officers responded around 5:24 p.m. Nov. 2 to the 400 block of Harris Avenue for a report of a suspicious person. Officers were told the individual had been telling people they had just driven their truck off a boat ramp and into the water.

When officers contacted the individual, who also owned the vehicle, they confirmed they had driven the truck into the bay. The individual told officers no one else was inside the vehicle.

Bellingham police officers, Bellingham Fire Department personnel and the U.S. Coast Guard searched the water for the truck. However, darkness prevented responders from locating the vehicle during the initial search.

Responders did find items floating in the water that belonged to the vehicle’s owner. Officers recovered the items and returned them to the owner.

Police notified the Port of Bellingham and the Washington Department of Ecology about the incident.

Truck recovered from Bellingham Bay

Police said officers were on scene Wednesday when Top to Bottom Inc., the tow company that recovered the truck, raised the vehicle from the water.

The Port of Bellingham handled the response involving the vehicle in the water and its subsequent recovery. BPD directed additional questions about those operations to the port.

Roger and Patrick Schjelderup own Top to Bottom Inc., and provided photos of the recovery. Divers Kaiden Pope and Graham Wallace suited up and performed the recovery.

Bellingham Police Department information officer Lt. Claudia Murphy, Patrol Division, did not indicate whether the driver faces any charges related to the incident.

Frequently Asked Questions