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Pair seriously hurt when high-speed chase into Hamilton County ends with crash on U.S. 20

WILLIAMS — Two people from Washington were airlifted Monday night after a high-speed chase led to a wreck near Williams on US. Highway 20.

Viliami Wight and a passenger, Laurie Henke, were seriously hurt when the car Wight was driving westbound on Highway 20 went into the median, then crashed into a semi, the Iowa State Patrol reported.

ISP reported Wight’s car was “eluding law enforcement at a high rate of speed, driving recklessly.”

Scanner traffic reported the car at times exceeding 100 mph.

Wight, 26, of Auburn, Washington, was transported to Van Diest Medical Center’s helipad before being airlifted by MercyOne Air Med to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center.

Henke, 52, also of Auburn, Washington, had to be extricated from the vehicle, according to scanner reports. She was eventually transported via ground ambulance to VDMC’s helipad before being airlifted on Life Flight and taken to the same medical center, the ISP reported.

Their conditions were not available Tuesday.

The crash, which occurred at westbound mile marker 156 on Highway 20, happened shortly after 8 p.m.

The Wight car, a 2019 Toyota Camry, hit a 2003 Kenworth driven by Joseph Ward, 52, of Steamboat Rock. He was not injured. The carrier he was hauling is owned by Smith Cattle Company, of Steamboat Rock, ISP reported.

In addition to the ISP, the Hamilton and Hardin county sheriff’s departments were involved in the rescue and investigation, as well as Williams Fire & EMS.

The crash remains under investigation.

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