DPS: 2 Dalhart VFD firefighters killed in head-on crash on US 54 on Tuesday

Two Texas Panhandle area first responders died in a crash Tuesday night, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) released Wednesday morning.

"It is with hearts full of sadness and grief, that we inform you, last night DVFD lost 2 of our own in a vehicle accident," the Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post. "While returning to station from a call earlier in the night, Firefighter Brendan Torres and Fire Chief Curtis Brown were involved in a motor vehicle accident with a semi. Chief Brown and Firefighter Torres were pronounced at the scene. As more information becomes available of funeral services, we will release that information. Please give the families, Firefighters, and their families space and time as figure out how to move forward."

The DPS statement says that on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at approximately 8:40 p.m., DPS troopers responded to a head-on collision involving a Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department vehicle (Chevrolet Tahoe) and a truck tractor towing a semi-trailer on US 54, northeast of Dalhart in Dallam County.

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The preliminary investigation indicates the truck tractor towing the semi-trailer was traveling northeast and the Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling southwest, when the driver of the truck tractor attempted to pass an unknown vehicle and struck the Chevrolet Tahoe head-on. The two Dalhart firefighters inside the Tahoe died.

The driver of the truck tractor was taken to a hospital in Dalhart with unknown injuries.

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The investigation is ongoing, and an official report about the crash is forthcoming.

This is a developing story; more information will be released as it becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: DPS: 2 Dalhart firefighters killed in head-on crash on US 54