Updated: Car Crashes, Burns in McAleer Creek

A car speeding through Lake Forest Park early Friday careened off the road, crashed into McAleer Creek and caught fire, police said.

Three people were in the 2008 Volkswagen Beetle, which was going more than 60 mph in a 25 mph zone in the 18100 block of N.E. Perkins Way, said Lake Forest Park Police Chief Steve Sutton.

When police arrived just after 4 a.m. July 26, the three occupants were walking away from the car, which was resting on its wheels and was fully engulfed in flames, police said. The Northshore Fire Department responded and put out the fire.

Update, 4:15 p.m. July 26: The car's occupants, all in their early 20s, weren't injured, Sutton said, and were released at the scene. The driver is expected to be charged with reckless driving.

The fire sent flames shooting nearly 80 feet down the creek, likely because of gasoline on the water surface, police said. The gas tank ruptured and the tires burned and popped.

Public Works staff used absorbent booms downstream and used erosion control measures while looking for contamination. Contaminated sediment at the site was cleaned up, but it is likely that petroleum, fire byproducts, fire response chemicals and other engine fluids contaminated the stream, said Public Works Superintendent Scott Walker. The city reported the chemical release to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Ecology.