A 22-year-old driver was killed and a police officer was injured early Saturday in a head-on collision that occurred as the lawman was responding to a call for service in central Arkansas, authorities said.

It happened shortly before 1 a.m. as Maumelle officer Christopher Cruse was driving north on Arkansas 100 near Arkansas 365, according to a statement from the Maumelle Police Department.

The other driver — identified by Arkansas State Police as Anthony Walker of Maumelle — appears to have been traveling south in the northbound lanes in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, police said, noting the investigation is in its preliminary stages.

Walker sustained fatal injuries, and two passengers in the Jeep were also hurt. Cruse, 23, suffered injuries to both legs, authorities said.

Conditions at the time were reported to be clear and dry. The death is at least the 359th in a traffic crash in Arkansas so far this year.

State police are handling the investigation.