SEATTLE – A Fife, Wash. RV salesman is hospitalized after suddenly being attacked by a so-called customer with a crowbar Monday night.

Fife Police say the suspect was looking at trailers at Fife RV and Auto Center on Alexander Avenue East when the attack happened.

"I thought about it all night. That could've been me, you know," said co-worker Gary Johnson. He was working last night when a well-dressed man entered the lot, seemingly interested in buying an RV.

"He just had white sneakers, tennis shoes on, a polo shirt. Didn't act nervous at all, so I didn't think anything of it," said Johnson.

The man spent more than an hour looking at trailers and inquiring about warranties. Around 9 p.m., Johnson handed the customer off to 68-year-old salesman Larry Pletcher.

"Nicest man in the world. Devout Christian. Just a good, good human being," said salesman Gordon DeVore.

But soon after the men entered a trailer, police say the suspect pulled the crowbar out of his clothing and began bashing Pletcher in the skull.

Pletcher fought back, hitting his assailant with a fire extinguisher and managing to stagger out of the trailer, screaming for help.

"You couldn't tell who he was. He looked like he'd been murdered," said Johnson.

The suspect sped off in a rented SUV he'd left idling during his entire hour and a half on the property. Police say he quickly stole a new license plate and attached it to his vehicle, but they still managed to spot him.

The chase ended at another RV sales lot a few blocks away. The suspect crashed his SUV through some blackberry bushes and drove through some weeds, apparently trying to reach Interstate 5.

Police quickly caught the 48-year-old man. He'd broken his leg at some point during his escape attempt, so both he and Pletcher are in the hospital.

Co-workers still wonder what set it off.

"I don't even know what the motive was. Was it money? Or is he just angry at the world?" said DeVore.

Pletcher is now listed in serious condition.

Employees at the RV center are now setting up new safety procedures for their sales staff.