Maine State police are reporting multiple people are dead after a car carrying Maine Maritime Academy students veered off road and into a tree early Saturday morning.
The crash occurred just after 2 a.m. on Route 166 in Castine. The car was traveling south when it left the roadway and hit a tree before “erupting into flames,” according to a press statement from police spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Three occupants in the car, identified as students at Maine Maritime Academy, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Maine State Police did not release the number of people killed in the crash. Police say the bodies of the victims were taken to the office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification.
Police are not releasing the names of the victims at this time and are continuing to investigate the incident.
Route 166 was closed for more than eight hours as troopers investigated the wreck, but has since reopened.
