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Attempted Sex Assault Suspect Killed In Palisades Parkway Crash; 2 Others Injured

FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A driver was killed and two others injured in a fiery crash on the Palisades Parkway early Tuesday morning after a good Samaritan tried to stop the driver from attempting to sexually assault a woman, according to authorities.

It all began when two men picked up a woman in New York to drive her home to the Bronx, but instead drove to Fort Lee, New Jersey. That's where the driver tried to sexually assault the woman, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.

The second man stayed in the back seat of the car and may have been incapacitated from alcohol or another substance, authorities said.

When a cab driver tried to stop the alleged attack, the suspect jumped back in the car and took off on the parkway before crashing into a tree in Alpine.

The car burst into flames and the driver was killed, prosecutors said.

The male passenger was ejected and taken to a hospital. The woman was also hospitalized. Their conditions are not immediately known.

Prosecutors said no one was chasing the car and they are still trying to determine what caused the driver to crash.

The investigating is ongoing.

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