A single vehicle rollover shut down West Valley Highway East in both directions at the start of rush hour Tuesday. Firefighters from East Pierce Fire and Rescue were called to the scene of an accident at 4:46 p.m. They arrived to find the vehicle, with significant damage, in a ditch.

Firefighters were forced to use the “Jaws of Life” and other tools to remove the top of the car, in order to extricate the driver, the only occupant. Once the driver was removed from the vehicle, he was transported to a local trauma center with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses said the driver lost control and hit an embankment, spinning several times before landing in the ditch on the highway that borders the cities of Sumner and Edgewood.

Sumer and Edgewood Police Departments are investigating the cause of the accident.

– from a press release