Three people were killed and two others injured in Alice Springs when a driver tried to evade a police traffic stop and crashed into another car on Christmas Day.

Police said the driver of one of the vehicles attempted to avoid a police traffic stop, drove away at speed and crashed into another car.

The crash happened in the evening, in the Alice Springs suburb of Sadadeen, on Sadadeen Road.

The road was closed overnight as the Major Crash Unit and Northern Territory police detectives investigated the cause of the crash, with drivers advised to seek alternate routes.

The road toll is currently lower than it was this time last year. Photo: ABC News/Katrina Beavan

A man who was injured in the crash was treated and discharged from Alice Springs hospital, while a 20-year-old woman remained in the intensive care unit in a stable condition.

Thirty-five people have died on Northern Territory roads this year, compared with 50 fatalities at this time last year.

-ABC