Two dead in high-speed crash in Attleboro

(Rose Lincoln for The Boston Globe)

By Globe Staff

Two people were killed this morning when the cars they were driving at high speed went out of control on a highway in Attleboro, State Police said.

The crash happened at about 11 a.m. on Interstate 95 north at Interstate 295. Television footage showed two badly burned cars off the side of the roadway.

State Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that a 2008 Nissan sedan and a 1998 Honda sedan were headed north at a high rate of speed, switching from lane to lane and passing traffic.

As they approached Interstate 295, they made contact with each other in the right lane and both vehicles lost control. They continued off the right shoulder of the roadway, headed up an embankment, and crashed into the concrete abutment for the Route 295 overpass.

The vehicles came to rest on their roofs and burst into flames, police said. Attleboro firefighters responded to the scene but were unable to extricate the victims before they were engulfed in flames.

The names of the drivers are being withheld until they can be identified and their next of kin can be notified, police said.

The crash is being investigated by the State Police.

Sergeant Mike Rafferty, a State Police spokesman, said there was "some kind of aggressive driving" going on but couldn't confirm media reports that the two cars were racing.

The right two northbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed this afternoon, as well as the ramp from Interstate 295 to 95. Police urged travelers to seek alternate routes.

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