A Maine State Police trooper’s car caught fire Tuesday evening after an attempt to pursue a speeding vehicle.
At around 11:11 p.m., Sgt. Jonathan Russell had been traveling on Route 26 in Oxford when he tried to pull over a speeding vehicle, which then turned down Rabbit Valley Road with the officer in pursuit.
As Russell continued chasing the vehicle, his cruiser went off the road and into a ditch at the bottom of a hill, coming to a rest with its front end down, according to Maine Department of Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Russell escaped the vehicle, and was able to get his K-9, Preacher, out of the vehicle before it caught fire.
Once the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames, ammunition in the back of the vehicle exploded, leaving the cruiser and all equipment completely unusable, Moss said.
Russell was not seriously injured in the crash, and his K-9 was unharmed.
Russell was not able to identify the driver he had been chasing prior to the crash, but he believes that they may be driving a mid-2000’s Chevy or GMC with a utility body.
Further details were not immediately available on Wednesday afternoon.
