1 Dead After Car Strikes Tree, Catches Fire In Cranston

CRANSTON, RI — A person is dead after a car crashed into a tree in Cranston Thursday morning, according to police.

The crash happened around 8 a.m., on Laten Knight Road. The car became engulfed in flames after it hit the tree, police said. The driver was declared dead at the scene. Police have not released the victim's identity.

Cranston police said they are still investigating the cause of the crash.

This was the third fatal crash in Rhode Island this week.

On Tuesday, a Smithfield man was killed in a late-night crash on Interstate 295 in Smithfield. Donal Houde, 48, died at Rhode Island Hospital not long after the crash.

On the same day, a woman died in a two-car crash in North Kingstown. The crash took place on South County Trail at the intersection of Dry Bridge Road and left a 20-year-old woman dead.