Nov. 21 (UPI) — Two sheriff’s deputies were killed and a third was in critical condition after a “horrific crash” in Florida on Thursday, authorities said.

The incident involved three deputies on motorcycles from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office who were doing routine traffic enforcement on Southern Boulevard. One of the officers had trouble getting his motorcycle started and called the other two for help getting it off the roadway, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

The officers were waiting for assistance in a grassy area away from the road when a vehicle traveling eastbound on the highway attempted to pass another vehicle and then “overcompensated,” lost control and struck all three motorcycle officers.

“All three went airborne in different directions,” Bradshaw said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon.

Two deputies were pronounced dead at a local hospital and the third was listed in critical condition Thursday night.

“Hopefully he’s going to make it,” Bradshaw said of the surviving deputy. “But it’s a bad crash.”

The two deputies who died were identified by the sheriff’s office as Cpl. Luis Paez, who had been a motorcycle cop for more than 20 years after first joining the department in 1988, and Deputy Sheriff Ralph “Butch” Waller, who served in the motorcycle unit for more than 18 years.

The third — deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, who joined the office in 2004 and has been on the motor unit for more than 10 years — had surgery and remains in critical but stable condition, Bradshaw said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating the crash along with the Florida Highway Patrol.