EASTON, Wash. — A trooper pulled a speeding driver from a burning vehicle Thursday near Easton, west of Ellensburg.
The Washington State Patrol said Trooper Darin Fehlhafer tried to overtake a black 1997 Mercedes he saw being driven erratically at 122 mph at milepost 78 of eastbound I-90.
The driver, later identified as Chase C. Sukert, 24, tried to take an exit but lost control of his vehicle, rotated and struck a parked semi-truck on the right shoulder of the exit ramp.
When Fehlhafer got to the scene, there was a fire due to the crash. Hehlhafer pulled the injured driver from the burning Mercedes to safety.
Sukert was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
The State Patrol said Sukert had been out on bail from an arrest in October involving a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper.