Two die in fiery car crash along East Valley Highway near Kent, Auburn | Update: One victim identified

Single-car wreck north of South 277th Street

Two die in fiery car crash along East Valley Highway near Kent, Auburn | Update: One victim identified

Two people were killed in a single-car fiery crash early Wednesday morning along the East Valley Highway between the city borders of Kent and Auburn.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified one of the victims on Thursday as David Kharlanov, 27. He died from smoke inhalation, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office media report.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said it had nothing to release yet about the identification of the other victim.

The driver of a 2007 BMW M6, traveling northbound at a high rate of speed at about 5:30 a.m. near the 26800 block of the East Valley Highway, lost control and went down an embankment on the west side of the road, said King County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ryan Abbott in a phone interview. The rear end of the car struck a large tree and the vehicle burst into flames.

A witness called to report a car on fire. When police officers and firefighters arrived, the two people inside the vehicle were deceased, Abbott said.

Traffic investigators found long skid marks along the highway. The car had racing tires without much traction and it had been raining, Abbott said. A BMW M6 is a high performance car that has been made since 1983.


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