Fender Bender Shuts Down Northwest Avenue in Bellingham

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The usual bumper to bumper afternoon traffic on Northwest Avenue led to a fender bender that shut down northbound lanes late Tuesday afternoon.

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Shortly after 5:00 p.m., a vehicle collision at the intersection of Northwest Avenue and Lynn Street closed lanes for nearly an hour. Witnesses walking along the sidewalk and at the entrance of Yeager’s Sporting Goods described hearing a loud “pop” but no sounds of braking.

“It was a really loud bang,” Paul Conrad, Yeager’s Camping Department Manager, said. “The Jeep hit the Subaru and then it looked like the Subaru hit the other Subaru. It was so loud.”

Conrad described seeing a blue Jeep Liberty rear-ending a Subaru Forester, with the Forester then lightly tapping an older Subaru Outback in front of them. All three vehicles initially pulled into the parking lots between Mi Rancho and the Cruisin’ Coffee office building.

With damage only to the Forester and Jeep, the Outback left the scene. Both remaining vehicles moved out of the roadway, and traffic kept moving — until emergency Fire, EMT, and Police Department first responders arrived and secured the scene.

Responders blocked the northbound lanes and diverted traffic to Lynn Street.

PNW Daily was in the Yeager’s fishing department as the scene unfolded and brought footage live on Facebook until the store closed at 6:00 p.m.

The accident remains under investigation.