Photo by Pavł Polø
Overview
2025 is the lowest recorded year for motor vehicle accidents in Bellingham in at least a decade, excluding 2020.
- Total crashes: 1,091
- Fatal: 5
- Serious injury: 29
- Minor injury: 264
This represents a 17.8% drop in total crashes compared to 2024 (from 1,327 to 1,091). Despite the overall decline, fatalities increased by 150%, making severity concentration the main anomaly in the dataset.
Year-over-Year Change (2024 → 2025)
- Total crashes: ↓ (-17.8%)
- Fatal crashes: ↑ (+150%)
- Total injuries: Down overall
- Decreases recorded in:
- Distracted driving
- Alcohol-related crashes
- Teen driver crashes
Only one category moved against the trend: fatal outcomes
Monthly Concentration
Highest crash volumes:
- October: 141 crashes (12.9% of annual total)
- January: 138 crashes (12.6%)
- May: 109 crashes (10.0%)
These three months account for 35.5% of all crashes, indicating seasonal concentration rather than uniform distribution.
Fatal Crash Locations & Conditions
- Cordata Pkwy & W Bakerview Rd
- Thursday, 2:33 PM
- Three drivers involved
- I‑5 (Bellingham Club & Country Club reference area)
- Tuesday, 6:44 PM
- Pedestrian fatality
- Northwest Ave & Elm St (V‑intersection)
On Friday, Nov. 21, a 21-year-old man was killed after his car left the roadway and crashed into a house on Elm Street in Bellingham around 11:20 p.m.
- Carolina St & Cornwall Ave
- Saturday, 8:42 PM
- Pedestrian fatality
- Boulevard (Salish Landing frontage)
- Sunday, 9:04 PM
- Teen driver involved
On Sunday night, Nov. 16, a teenager was killed in a vehicle crash on Boulevard in Bellingham after the car caught fire. Police responded around 9:03 p.m. in the 400 block of Boulevard between Bellingham and Fairhaven.
Patterns:
- 2 of 5 fatalities involved pedestrians (40%)
- 1 involved a teen driver (20%)
- Majority occurred outside morning rush hours
- 3 occurred after dark
High‑Frequency Crash Zones
- Downtown District / Urban Village: 80+ crashes
- I‑5 corridor: Recurring peaks at interchange and cloverleaf zones, especially:
- Meridian St
- E Sunset Dr
These locations show structural concentration rather than random distribution.
Distracted Driving
- Total crashes: 192 (17.6% of all crashes)
- Serious injuries: 5
- Moderate injuries: 19
- Cellphone misuse recorded: 12 crashes
- Teen distracted driving: 21 crashes
Severity rate (serious injuries): 2.6% of distracted-driving crashes.
Pedestrians & Cyclists
Pedestrians
- Total crashes: 39
- Fatal: 2 (5.1% fatality rate)
- Serious injuries: 9 (23% serious injury rate)
Pedestrian crashes show a disproportionately high severity profile compared to general crash data.
Cyclists
- Total crashes: 33
- Serious injuries: 7 (21.2%)
- Downtown concentration: ~33% of cyclist crashes
Alcohol‑Involved Crashes
- Total: 51 (4.7% of all crashes)
- Serious injuries: 5 (9.8%)
- Minor injuries: 9
- E Chestnut St: 6 incidents
- Teen DUI: 4 crashes
Severity ratio is higher than general crash average despite lower volume.
Teen Driving
- Total crashes: 167 (15.3% of all crashes)
- Fatal: 1
- Serious injury: 4
- Minor/moderate injuries: 40
Teen drivers account for a disproportionate share of injury-related crashes relative to volume.
Vehicle-Type Involvement
- Buses: 14 crashes
- Motorcycles: 20 crashes
- 2 serious injuries
- 15 minor/moderate injuries
- Heavy trucks: 67 crashes
- 14 minor/moderate injuries
Motorcycle crashes show high injury density relative to frequency.
Wildlife Collisions
- Total: 9 crashes
- Moderate severity: 9
- I‑5 concentration: 7 incidents (77.8%)
Location clustering indicates corridor-specific risk rather than random exposure.
Structural Patterns
The 2025 dataset shows a clear divergence between volume and severity. Overall crash frequency declined sharply, but fatal outcomes increased, concentrating harm rather than dispersing it. Pedestrian and cyclist incidents present the highest proportional risk profiles, with severity rates that exceed general traffic averages.
Legal timeframe notice: If you were injured in a motor vehicle collision in Washington at any point in 2025, you remain within the statutory period to file a personal injury claim.
📞 Contact us today for a free consultation: Bellingham Contact Page.
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