Salem — Two crashes, one in the aftermath of the other, caused the five-vehicle wreck that involved 13 people at the intersection of Old Colchester Road and Rattlesnake Ledge Road on Friday night that left one dead and seven injured, state police said Saturday.

According to police reports, the first accident occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m., when Thomas Bysko of Oakdale, driving northbound along Old Colchester Road, attempted to pass Tonya Harris of Salem in his Toyota Camry.

Bysko rear-ended Harris' Toyota Rav 4 and drove into the southbound lane, where he collided head-on with a Ford Fusion driven by Tammy Whisman of Oakdale.

Operators of the vehicles got out of their cars and a fourth vehicle, an Audi Q5 driven by Lori Aquilina, stopped near the crash.

Moments later, according to police, Frederick McKeehan of Quaker Hill, who was heading southbound in his Toyota Corolla, failed to notice the collision scene ahead and crashed into Harris's Rav 4, which then hit Whisman's vehicle. McKeehan then hit Aquilina's car before stopping south of the scene of the first crash.

A passenger in the Corolla, Carol McKeehan of Quaker Hill, was killed in the wreck.

It was not immediately clear if passengers involved in the first wreck were injured during the first or second crash, though several people were injured by vehicles shifting around in the second crash.

Tonya Harris was transported to Hartford Hospital by Life Star helicopter for a suspected serious injury. She was listed in Hartford Hospital as being in critical condition as of 8:26 p.m. Saturday.

Tammy Whisman and Christopher Todd Whisman were transported with suspected injuries.

In addition, two minors — Trayton Harris, a passenger in Tonya Harris' car, and Indigo Whisman, a passenger in Tammy Whisman's car — were transported to hospitals with suspected serious injuries, the report said. A third minor, Roslyn Harris, was transported for a possible injury, it said.

Thomas Bysko was transported to The William W. Backus Hospital with suspected minor injuries.

Connecticut State Police's collision analysis team was assisting in the investigation, which is ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the collisions is asked to contact Trooper Lukasz Kowalczyk of Troop K at (860) 465-5400, ext. 4502.