NORTHAMPTON — Two accident victims were taken to the hospital, including one pulled from a burning vehicle, after a man fleeing police on Interstate 91 in Northampton crashed into a truck and a construction sign that struck a police cruiser, according to state police.

Police are accusing the suspect, 54-year-old Darryl Whitaker of Chicopee, of fleeing at high speed after officers attempted to stop him for prior warrants and motor vehicle violations at around 2:40 a.m. Whitaker allegedly struck the truck of a 41-year-old contractor from Gill shortly after police popped his Mustang’s right-side tires with a tire deflation device where I-91 crosses over the Oxbow of the Connecticut River, according to State Police spokesman David Procopio.

Police say that workers at a construction project ahead of the pursuit were removed from the site. Whitaker, however, still continued on his damaged tires before he allegedly crashed first into a construction sign at a road project and then into a contractor’s truck that was parked in the median. The construction sign flew through the air and landed on a pursuing cruiser’s windshield, police said.

Whitaker sustained serious injuries from the crash after his car burst into flames with him trapped him inside, according to Procopio. He was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after officers pulled him from the vehicle, and the contractor he hit was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton with what are believed to be minor injuries. 

The trooper whose cruiser was struck by the sign was not injured though the cruiser sustained significant damage, according to Procopio. Whitaker will be charged with several outstanding warrants as well as motor vehicle offenses related to the pursuit and crash, according to State Police.  

The crash initially lead to the closure of the interstate's northbound lanes and exit 18, which reopened shortly before 6 a.m.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.

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