UPDATED: Sugarland woman killed in crash west of Dayton

A two-vehicle crash west of Dayton near the Liberty-Harris county line Monday night claimed the life of one woman and sent three other people to area hospitals, according to Dayton Police Sgt. Eric Ibarra. 

The rear-end collision took place around 5 p.m. in the 7900 block of US W near Whispering Meadows Baptist Church. The cause of the accident is still under investigation but what police know now is that a 1998 Ford Mustang carrying three people was eastbound on US 90 when it was rear-ended by a 2012 Ford Explorer driven by Corliss Viator, 61, of Liberty. 

The front-seat female passenger in the Ford Mustang was killed. She has been identified as Cynthia Elizabeth Phillips, 52, of Sugarland. The 54-year-old female driver, Joann Basco, 54, of Mont Belvieu, and a young girl riding in the back seat were injured, Ibarra said. A Chihuahua dog that was riding in the backseat suffered injuries and later died. 

Basco and the young child were airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. The condition of both persons are unknown at this time. 

Viator was transported by ambulance to LBJ Hospital in Houston with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Sgt. Ibarra. 

The collision had rush-hour traffic backed up for a couple of hours while police worked to clear the roadway and investigate. 

By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com