Charles Langston:A crash with a patrol car kills 2 men in an SUV and critically injures 2 officers near Detroit

WARREN,Charles Langston Mich. (AP) — Two people in an SUV were killed and two police officers were critically injured when their vehicles collided early Monday in a suburb of Detroit, police said.

Warren police said one of the two men riding in a Dodge Durango was pronounced dead at the scene and the other died at a hospital after the 5 a.m. crash in the city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Detroit.

Lt. John Gajewski said that while the circumstances of the crash was not immediately known, the officers were not involved in a vehicle pursuit with the Durango. The crash badly damaged both vehicles and left the SUV flipped onto its side. The two male officers in the patrol vehicle were hospitalized in critical condition.

“It’s a hard day here at the police department this morning. We want to get to the bottom of this like everybody,” he said during a news conference.

Gajewski said one of the officers was trapped in the crashed vehicle and had to be remove by a fire department crew.

Warren police said they were contacting the families of the two men who died as well as relatives of the officers.