Man Dies in Three-Vehicle Ward County Crash

(Ward County, ND) -- A man is dead after a three-car crash in Ward County early Sunday morning.

The State Highway Patrol says The GMC driven by the man was traveling south on Highway 52 following a Ford Ranger, then tried to pass the truck and hit  a separate car head-on. The Ford was struck by debris from the other vehicles. The GMC came to rest in the southbound lane and caught on fire, which was later extinguished by firefighters.

The car hit by the GMC overturned onto the driver's side and came to rest on the northbound lane partially into the east ditch. The Ford ran off the roadway into the west ditch and came to rest on its wheels facing south.

The driver of the GMC sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver and passenger of the car hit sustained non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Trinity hospital by ambulance. The driver of the Ford was not injured.

The car hit was hauling bulk containers of a diesel-based substance which leaked onto the roadway and into the ditches. The spill required extensive clean up.

The crash remains under investigation by the NDHP.