WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A person was sent to the hospital after being impaled by a gate north of Bellingham.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater says deputies responded to a vehicle collision on Mission Road at around 3 p.m. on Sunday.

They arrived to find the driver impaled in the groin area by part of a gate used to close access to the road but still inside their vehicle.

Multiple fire and EMS units responded and successfully removed the driver from their vehicle after an hour. Whatcom County Fire District 1 Chief Rachel Carlson said the incident needed a technical rescue in coordination with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue and the Bellingham Fire Department.

The person was transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.

Carlson says the cause of the incident remains under investigation.