State police say two people died and a third was critically burned when a tractor-trailer ran off of Interstate 12, hit some trees, jack-knifed and was engulfed in flames. All three were trapped in the cab.
Trooper Nick Manale says the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office is working to identify the dead.
Manale says witnesses rescued one passenger after the 2010 Freightliner drifted off the road about 11 a.m. Wednesday west of the exit to Lacombe. But he says intense flames kept them from reaching two other adults.
The rescued passenger was taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans. The others were dead at the scene.
Troopers are investigating what caused the crash.
Manale says names will be released after people are identified and families notified.