A 1994 Pontiac Grand Am was extinguished after its unconscious driver was dragged to safety near Vader. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A motorist traveling alone on a dark, desolate highway in south Lewis County overnight was pulled unconscious from his wrecked and burning car by passersby who happened upon the scene.
The 56-year-old man from Vader was rushed by helicopter to a Seattle hospital with serious injuries.
Aid and troopers were called about 12:20 a.m. to the site, on state Route 506 about three miles west of Vader.
Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Chief Richard Underdahl said when crews arrived, the Pontiac Grand Am had slammed into a tree and was fully engulfed in flames.
“Bystanders had removed the driver from the vehicle and dragged him to safety,” Underdahl said.
Earl L. Crawford is listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center this morning.
According to responders, Crawford was westbound and traveling fast through a sweeping left curve before the collision. The Washington State Patrol reports speed was a factor.
The fire chief said he believed the patient didn’t sustain any burns but he had serious facial injuries.
The area is roughly a mile west of Brim Creek Road on the way to Ryderwood, according to Underdahl.
Underdahl said if not for the civilian rescuers, Crawford certainly would have perished.
“One trooper said, he is so lucky someone was on this road; during the time we were there, not one car drove up,” he said. “That road is not well traveled.”
The scene on state Route 506 west of Vader this morning. / Courtesy photo by Tiffany Pannkuk
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter