This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Four Mormon missionaries — including two from Utah — were injured in a crash Wednesday in west Africa.

The missionaries were traveling in a van in Sierra Leone with a local church member, said Eric Hawkins, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A car attempting to pass a truck on the highway struck their van. The driver of the car died at the scene.

Each of the five LDS Church members in the van suffered injuries, some "quite severe," Hawkins said. Two of the men were transported by helicopter to Ghana for care and two were taken to a local hospital. The fifth was released and is recovering.

"Medical advisors from church headquarters and the local area have been closely involved in their care since the accident occurred," Hawkins said, "and will continue to work with the medical teams that are caring for them."

Two of the missionaries are from Utah — Luke P. Dunn, of Salt Lake City, and Nicklaus M. Spaulding, of Nibley — and the other two — Augustine Biney-Amissah and Isaac Boateng — are from Ghana. The local church member, Marcus Wallace, is from Sierra Leone.

Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner