CALCIUM, N.Y. (AP) - The driver of a sedan carrying five people in northern New York state lost control and struck a billboard and a tree, killing all five passengers, authorities said.
“Although the investigation is ongoing, it is apparent excessive speed was a major factor in this tragedy,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Authorities identified three of the occupants of the Chevy Malibu as: Eugene Coleman, 28; Julian White, 29, and 21-year-old Damon Scott, all of Watertown.
The names of the others, a male and a female, were withheld while their relatives in Texas were being contacted.
No other vehicles were believed involved in the 3 a.m. crash Tuesday on Route 11, authorities said.
“It sounded very loud, like thunder, almost like thunder cracking multiple times,” said Adam McCargar, who lives near the crash site. “You probably heard about seven or eight different cracks before (you) heard one loud bomb.”
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