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Troopers: Driver who caused fatal crash was high on meth; booked into jail

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Friends of the 22-year-old man killed in Thursday night’s fiery rollover crash gathered Friday night to remember him.

Ian Beckford’s friends were sad and angry about the crash. Investigators say the driver who caused the crash was speeding and high on meth.

“I feel that guy should have been the one to die. Ian didn’t deserve it, that guy did, “ said Dacia Bukoskey, who grew up with Beckford.

The driver who started a deadly chain-reaction crash on Interstate 405 in Bellevue Thursday was high on methamphetamine, according to State Patrol investigators.

The driver, identified as 27-year-old Samuel C. Sampson of Woodinville,  is under arrest for investigation of vehicular homicide.

On Saturday morning, Sampson was booked into the King County Jail.

According to several drivers who called 911 before the crash, the driver had been weaving through traffic at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

See photos of the Bellevue crash here.

Sampson bragged  on Twitter about his desire to speed, writing, “Blew past a cop at 130 mph, glanced over and kept going.”

Sampson, who recently moved from New York to Washington, added, “ Still learning how to read cops out here. They’re driving among traffic 90 percent of the time so it makes me hesitant for 155 mph.”

The idea that Sampson was known to speed and bragged about it, upset Beckford’s friends even more.

Sampson was driving an Audi and had a passenger in the car.  Around 10 p.m. troopers say the Audi slammed into the rear a BMW, causing it to slide then roll several times before bursting into flames.

Police said that the Suspect bragged about speeding on his twitter account months before the crash.

Beckford, was trapped in the car and died at the scene. The BMW and the Audi also collided with two other vehicles, injuring three more people.

A lawyer for Beckford's family said Beckford had spent the day at Lake Sammamish and was heading home when his car was hit.

The crash and fire closed all lanes of southbound I-405 at Southeast Eighth for several hours Thursday, causing traffic chaos. Drivers caught in the back-up were seen walking around the roadway. Some turned around, driving northbound in southbound lanes.

"Meth does crazy, unpredictable things to people, especially behind the wheel," said trooper Chris Webb. "Drivers can become extremely aggressive and dangerous."

Sampson's passenger, 25-year-old Stacy Abele, was also injured and is in stable condition at Overlake Hospital.

"The Audi hit the other car so hard, a wheel came off," said Webb. “The debris field is at least 2,000 feet. This is a tragic crime scene. We have a lot of work to do to piece it together.”

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