Investigators say a state trooper pulled over 58-year-old Edwin Halko of Newark about 12:45 a.m. Saturday after observing his vehicle commit traffic violations.
The trooper believed Halko was driving drunk and asked Halko to get out of the car. But police say Halko refused. Instead, he put his car in reverse before speeding out of a parking lot. The trooper followed with lights and siren but wasn't able to catch up.
Police say Halko drove onto westbound US 40, lost control and struck a utility pole on the driver's side of the car. Halko was ejected from the vehicle and was later pronounced dead.
No one else was in the vehicle.
