VERMILLION PARISH - State police reported a two-vehicle crash that killed two people, including a man from Lafayette, early Wednesday morning. 

The crash happened on Highway 167 in Vermillion Parish near Lawrence Road around 1:30 a.m.. One vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, State Police said, and rear-ended another, sending both vehicles off of the highway and overturning them. 

Jasper Morrison, 36, and Matthew Landry, 22, were both in the vehicle that rear-ended the other. They were both unrestrained and ejected from the vehicle when the crash happened. Both men were pronounced dead on the scene. Landry was from Lafayette. 

The three passengers in the vehicle they hit were also unrestrained. They were all taken to a local hospital with critical injuries. 

State Police released the following statement about the crash:

Louisiana State Police would like to remind motorists to slow down, buckle up, and put the phone down. Take this time to make a New Year’s resolution to be safer behind the wheel. Crash forces do not care who you are or what you drive. The faster you drive, the greater the risk of serious injury or death and not wearing a seat belt greatly increases that risk. This crash is an example of possibly walking away compared to being carried away from a crash. Let us all resolve to make the roadway safer in 2023.