By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

VACHERIE — A woman was killed and two men were injured Thursday in a head-on collision on Louisiana Highway 18 in St. James Parish, according to Louisiana State Police.

Linda Dupard, 59, of Vacherie, was driving east on Highway 18 in a 1998 Nissan 200 when her vehicle was hit by a Ford F-250 pickup traveling westbound around noon Thursday, according to a release from State Police Troop C. The westbound truck crossed the center line of Highway 18 into the eastbound lane for unknown reasons, troopers said.

Dupard was pronounced dead at the scene by the St. James Parish Coroner’s Office. The driver of the truck, Lionel Temple, 27, and a passenger, Brandon McClain, 30, both of Vacherie, were taken to St. James Hospital in Lutcher for treatment of moderate injuries.

Investigators said alcohol is not suspected as a factor in the crash, but blood was taken from Temple, and test results are pending at the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, troopers said. Routine toxicology tests are pending for Dupard, troopers said. The wreck remains under investigation.