State police have identified the man who died in a high-speed crash in Freeland yesterday as Richard B Clark of Oak Harbor.

He was 24.

The accident happened shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 525 just past the intersection at Cameron Road. According to a Washington State Patrol press memo, Clark was southbound on the state route traveling at a high rate of speed in a 1994 Acura Integra. He attempted to pass another southbound vehicle, a 1997 Toyota 4Runner driven by Stephen Judd of Clinton, but collided with the second car in the process causing both to lose control and end up in a ditch.

Clark was ejected from his vehicle and later transported by ambulance to a nearby airlift site but died of his injuries before he could be taken to an off-island hospital.

His next of kin were notified by the Island County coroner, according to the press memo.

Judd, 65, was not injured in the crash.

State troopers at the scene said Clark’s vehicle was reported by two separate motorists for “erratic” driving at locations along the highway between Oak Harbor and the crash site. An Island County deputy spotted the car north of Freeland and turned around to give pursuit. The deputy reportedly lost sight of the vehicle until he reached the top of the hill by Bush Point Road only to see the crash unfold in the distance, said Trooper Mark Francis.

The press memo cited the official cause as “bad pass and speed.”

The accident caused a road closure of several hours.