Authorities in Australia say a 40-year-old woman is facing criminal charges after allegedly fleeing the scene of a deadly highway crash in a stolen vehicle.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the suspect is accused of causing an auto collision on Saturday morning in Cataby.

Police believe she was driving on the wrong side of the Brand Highway heading north and crashed into the trailer behind a truck tractor heading the opposite direction. The woman’s vehicle then continued on to hit a third vehicle traveling behind the Mack truck.

A passenger in the woman’s Holden Commodore, identified as a 41-year-old man from Karloo, was killed in the injury. Two boys, ages 4 and 10, were also in the vehicle and received minor injuries.

The drivers of the other two vehicles involved were reportedly not seriously injured.

Local investigators say a passing motorist driving a Nissan Navarra stopped to render aid.

A short time later, the woman allegedly commandeered that vehicle and drove away from the scene, leaving the dead passenger and children behind.

Authorities found the suspect, identified as a woman from Karloo, about 25 miles away from the scene of the crash. Police say they tracked her to a farm in Badgingarra and arrested her on suspicion of charges that were not specified in initial media reports.

As Perth Now reported, the suspect was transported to an area hospital upon her arrest and remained there under police guard as of the latest updates available.

Police said major crash team detectives continue to investigate the incident.

[Featured image: Pixabay]