RAY BROOK – Two Potsdam residents died Thursday afternoon after a pick-up truck being pursued by state police collided with their car on State Route 86 in front of Curtis Lumber.

James E. Barney, 42, who was driving a 2009 Honda Fit, was pronounced dead at the scene by Essex County Coroner Francis Whitelaw.

The front seat passenger, Kim Barney, 38, was transported to Adirondack Medical Center, Saranac Lake, and later air-lifted to Fletcher-Allen Medical Center in Burlington Vt. where she died of her injuries.

The rear seat passenger, Emily Colby, 11, was air-lifted from the scene to Fletcher-Allen where she was undergoing surgery for multiple injuries and was listed in critical condition late Thursday, police said.

The incident started after the Lake Placid Police Department contacted state police around 1:30 p.m. to request assistance with locating a 2011 Ford F-150 that was involved in a hit-and-run collision within the village of Lake Placid.

Troopers soon located truck traveling west on State Route 86, at what they said was “a high rate of speed.”

The troopers attempted to stop the vehicle but as the truck approached Ray Brook, it entered the eastbound lane and collided at about 2 p.m. with the Barney vehicle that was traveling east. Both vehicles then went off the north side of the highway where they came to rest, police said.

The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was the sole occupant of the Ford F-150 and was immediately taken into custody at the scene by state police.

The three occupants of the Honda were trapped and had to be extricated by Lake Placid and Saranac Lake Fire and Rescue personnel, police said.

State Police Aviation and Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) responded to the scene. The preliminary investigation indicates the operator of the Ford F-150 had been involved in other accidents prior to this collision, and had been operating in an extremely reckless manner through the village of Lake Placid and Town of North Elba, police said.

The truck operator remained in state police custody late Thursday and criminal charges are pending, police said.

The case remains under investigation by state police, Lake Placid Police and Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague, police said.