US police officer discovers wife killed in crash

A US policeman has responded to the scene of a fatal car crash to discover the victim was his wife, who was on her way to visit him.

Sumter County Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Browder was the first officer on the scene of the accident on Wednesday morning in South Carolina.

He found his wife Teresa had been killed in the head-on collision, caused when another car crossed the centre line and stuck her vehicle head-on.

"Today was a tragic day for one of our officers, as well as our entire agency, as one of our family members deals with the loss of a loved one," Sheriff Anthony Dennis told TV station WACH.

"We ask you keep the Browder family in your thoughts and prayers as they cope with this horrible tragedy."

Mrs Browder died from blunt force trauma, despite wearing a seatbelt.

"We are better people and a better organization for having had the privilege of knowing and working with Teresa," Clarendon Memorial Hospital, where she worked as a nurse, said in a statement.

"Heaven is celebrating their new angel, and we will miss her dearly."

Two other people in other cars were injured in the crash and taken to hospital.