An Arizona Department. of Public Safety trooper was injured in a fatal car crash north of Wickenburg, Arizona on Friday night.
The crash led the closure of the US 93 highway in both directions.
The crash took place in the northbound lanes of the US 93 near milepost 174, according to DPS. Two people died and five others were injured because of the crash.
The US 93 northbound was closed at State Route 71, while the southbound lanes were closed at Interstate 40. The highway was later reopened.
The situation happened when an Arizona trooper was responding to a call about an SUV that was low on fuel, and the people inside assumed that they did not have enough gas to make it into Wickenburg.
Authorities say he reassured them that they will get enough fuel to enter the town and offered to follow them to Wickenburg to ensure they arrived safely.
Once the DPS trooper started following them on the southbound US 93, another car driving northbound was observed speeding and passing vehicles in a no-passing zone.
The speeding car struck into both the SUV and the trooper’s vehicle. The SUV rolled over, killing one person and injuring the other two passengers inside.
DPS authorities said the patrol car burst into flames, trapping the trooper inside. He was rescued by people from a fourth car involved in the crash before his vehicle was entirely engulfed in fire.
The trooper was flown to a Phoenix-area hospital. His injuries were serious.
One person in the speeding car died at the scene, and two other passengers inside were admitted to Valley hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
The identities of the people involved in the crash were not revealed as of yet.
