Community Corner

UPDATE: Fiery Crash in Phantom Lake Neighborhood Resulted in Broken Nose, Possible DUI Charges

Witnesses told responding paramedics that the 20-year-old driver seemed impaired. He was released from the hospital after treatment, pending results of a blood test.

A 20-year-old who rolled over his 2000 BMW in a fiery crash on the Fourth of July was lucky to escape with a broken nose and a minor head injury, said the Bellevue Police Department.

The police department on Tuesday released additional information about the rollover crash that set trees on fire in the Phantom Lake neighborhood.

Around 6:30 p.m., the driver of a four-door sedan was driving westbound on Phantom Way in the 16200 block at a high rate of speed, lost control, flipped and struck an oak tree on the north side of the road, according to a Bellevue Police Department press release. Witnesses helped the driver escape the car before it became engulfed in flames, the police department reported.

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“Considering the violent nature of the crash, and that the driver only sustained fairly minor injuries, was amazing”, Traffic Lt. Marcia Harnden said in a prepared statement.

and units responded to the rollover crash.

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According to the police department, witnesses noticed the driver appeared to be under the influence. The witnesses kept the driver on the scene after becoming concerned that he might flee, police said. There were no other occupants in the vehicle.

The man, a Seattle resident, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, according to police, but he was taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center for treatment of a broken nose and a head injury, and released pending results of a blood test.

Police reported that this is the second DUI crash at the same location in the past 12 months. In 2011 there have been 135 DUI arrests compared to last year’s 109.


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