Four Maine Maritime Academy students were killed and three others were injured after their SUV slammed into a tree and caught fire early Saturday morning, a day after the semester concluded, according to authorities.
The driver and two other passengers, who were all students, survived the blaze that occurred at 2 a.m. in Castine.
The state medical examiner’s office named the four deceased students as Brian Kenealy, 20, of York, Maine; Chase Fossett, 21, of Gardiner, Maine; Luke Simpson, 22, of Rockport, Massachusetts; and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20, of Aquinnah, Massachusetts.
The 2013 Range Rover reportedly drove off the road and struck a tree while going south on Route 166, also known as Shore Road, according to the police.
The road was stopped for eight hours as a result of the catastrophic accident.
The driver and two passengers were sent to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Shannon Moss, a state police spokesperson.
Passengers Noelle Tavares, of North Falmouth, Massachusetts, and Dominick Gecyoa, 20, of Middletown, Massachusetts, were named as the two survivors.
CBS Boston reports that Joshua Goncalves-Radding, 20, of North Babylon, New York, was driving the SUV at the time of the accident.
President Jerry Paul of the Maine Maritime Academy, where the seven pupils were enrolled, stated that grief counselors will be accessible to students, instructors, and staff.
“Our community mourns the loss of these young lives and their families. While we have lost cherished members of our student body, four families have lost their children tonight. I request continuous respect for our Maine Maritime family’s privacy. Please remember these young individuals in your thoughts and prayers.”
The horrific accident occurred fewer than twenty-four hours after classes ended for the semester and shortly before next week’s finals were set to begin.
The Maine Maritime Academy is a public, four-year institution with around 950 students majoring in engineering, management, science, and transportation.
Investigators are attempting to identify the crash’s cause.
»Four Maine Maritime Academy students were murdered in a vehicle accident near campus«