MOAB — Alcohol and excessive speed are believed to be contributing factors in a crash that killed two Moab teenagers over the weekend and injured three more following their junior prom, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.
Taylor Bryant, 14, and Connor Denney, 16, were killed after being ejected from their vehicle. Daniel McCrary, 17, was also ejected and taken by medical helicopter to a hospital in critical condition, according to the sheriff's office.
The three teens who were ejected were not wearing seat belts, investigators said.
Gage Moore, 17, and Tierney DeMille, 14, were injured in the crash. They were first transported to Moab Regional Hospital and later flown by medical helicopters to undisclosed hospitals, the sheriff's office announced Monday in a prepared statement. All the victims are from Moab.
Four of the teens are students at Grand County High School, and one attends Grand County Middle School.
The group was in a Subaru Impreza heading north on La Sal Loop Road, just south of Ken's Lake, about 7:30 a.m Sunday when the driver sped around a curve, rolling the vehicle several times, San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge said.
"Excessive speed and alcohol and believed to be contributing factors," the sheriff's office said.
According to a Facebook post from the sister of one of the teens, "They were going over 100 mph and took a sharp turn and rolled."
Talon DeMille said her sister was one of the two not ejected from the car. But she suffered numerous leg, ankle and internal injuries that will require several surgeries.
Grand County High School Principal Stephen Hren visited the hospital Sunday.
"They have pretty extensive injuries," he said of the three who survived.
Hren said an emergency faculty meeting was held Sunday afternoon and again before school started Monday. Crisis counselors were at the high school and the middle school Monday morning. An assembly was held at the high school at 8 a.m. to update students and any parents who wanted to attend on what happened over the weekend, Hren said.
Approximately 450 students attend the high school.
"We're a small school district. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody cares about everybody," said Grand County District Superintendent Scott Crane.
"A lot of these kids have been going to school together for several years," Hren added.
Not all the teens involved in the crash attended the prom, which was held Saturday night in the school's gymnasium and ended at 11 p.m., the principal said. Hren said he did not know what happened between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. or what led up to the accident.
"It's all speculation. That's one of the things I talked to the students about this morning. We weren't there. We don't know exactly what happened, and the last thing we need is for things to explode on social media because … it hurts the families involved," he said.
The State Bureau of Investigation was assisting the San Juan County Sheriff's Office in trying to retrace the group's steps and find out where they got alcohol, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Todd Royce.
Mental health counselors are available to talk to students on an individual basis or in groups, according to the district. The district has two mental health counselors between the elementary, middle and high schools.
"Unfortunately, this is not our first (crisis situation). We've dealt with this in the past too many times," Hren said, noting there had been at least one fatal accident involving students each year for the past few years.
On its Facebook page, the school district also made sure students were aware of the counseling resources available.
"We know there are a lot of difficult conversations happening throughout the community in response to (Sunday's) tragedy. It's not always easy to know what to say when someone you love is hurting. There are resources about helping your child cope with traumatic events available on the district website. And please don't be afraid to reach out if you need help," according to the statement.
In a post Sunday, the school district said, "It is important that we come together as a community and lean on each other for support. Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of the students involved, as well as the entire community, as we mourn the lives that were cut short and hope for the best for the students who were injured."