The driver of a truck that began a fatal six-vehicle collision Thursday morning on Interstate 10 may have been distracted when he failed to stop on the congested road near the Chandler Boulevard off-ramp, officials said.

The accident occurred about 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, when a commercial tractor-trailer hauling an open-top box trailer loaded with garbage failed to stop, slamming into two passenger vehicles and wedging them into the back of second commercial truck, Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said.

The second truck then crashed into two other cars.

The first two passenger vehicles burst into flames, and the fire spread to the two trucks, according to DPS.

Troopers confirmed five people were killed in two of the passenger vehicles during the collision. 

The at-fault commercial driver sustained minor injuries, officials said.

Minor injuries were reported by the other drivers involved in the collision.

“Troopers are investigating driver distraction as a possible factor in this collision,” DPS officials said in a release.

Arizona Department of Public Safety detectives assigned to the Vehicular Crimes Unit are assisting with the investigation.

The cause of death for the five victims and their identities will be determined by the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner.