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Burien man bails out of burning car at 60 mph

BURIEN, Wash. — A Burien man survived a jump from his moving car when it caught fire at 60 mph.

Washington State Patrol troopers told KIRO 7 the man was driving on Highway 518 near South 154th Street in SeaTac when his car caught fire at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

He jumped from the car while it was traveling about 60 mph.  Incredibly, no other cars hit the man as he tumbled.

Police said a taxi cab that had been driving behind the man spotted him and stopped to help, calling 911.

The car kept going for about a half-mile before getting stuck in some bushes next to the Sea-Tac Airport off-ramp and setting them on fire.

Firefighters quickly doused the flames.

See images of the burned car here

Medics arrived and treated the driver for a broken ankle, cuts, bruises and minor burns before taking him to the hospital.

The victim said he had no idea why his 12-year-old Pontiac Grand AM caught fire.

Officers said they don’t know if the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but said they didn’t smell alcohol on the man’s breath.

Police said as frightening as the flames may have been, it would have been safer if the man had stopped the car first before jumping out.