One man died after his truck burst into flames and another suffered fatal injuries following a two-vehicle collision south of Port Perry on Thursday morning.

The two deaths happened just after 8 a.m. when a white pickup truck and white Volkswagen collided at the intersection of Simcoe Street and Old Simcoe Road, near the Purple Woods Conservation Area.

A third person, an elderly woman who was driving the car, suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to a Toronto hospital, say Durham police.

The two vehicles “violently collided,” sending the pickup truck off of Simcoe Street and into the parking lot of a former gas station at the intersection, said Const. George Tudos, a Durham police spokesperson who was at the scene.

He said the truck burst into flames and the male truck driver died in the vehicle.

Officers and a passerby tried to save the elderly male passenger of the Volkswagen by performing CPR, but the passenger also died at the scene, said Tudos.

The elderly female was flown to a Toronto hospital in an Ornge helicopter.

The ages and other details of the victims were unknown as of mid-Thursday morning, said Tudos. A coroner arrived just after 10 a.m. to begin the identification process, he said.

It was also unknown which direction the vehicles were headed in at the time of the collision, added Tudos.

The roadway was “slick” following an overnight rain and officers will look at all possibilities, including alcohol and speed, as they carry out their investigation, he added.

Given the amount of traffic that travels along Simcoe Street on weekday mornings, Tudos is asking any motorists who may have witnessed the collision or who stopped to offer assistance to call Durham police at 905-579-1520.

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