2 die in accident; vehicle explodes State to use DNA to identify bodies

TOWNSHIP 16 RANGE 4 – Two young men believed to be from Caribou died Sunday afternoon in an accident on Route 161, their car exploding into flames.

The two victims, who haven’t been identified, were flown to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta for identification and autopsy, according to Stephen McCausland, Maine Public Safety spokesman, on Tuesday.

Medical examiners plan to identify the two victims no earlier than Thursday afternoon, according to James Ferland of the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

“DNA is needed to complete the identification,” McCausland said Tuesday.

State police have obtained samples from the parents of the Caribou men thought to have died in the crash, and the Maine State Police Crime Lab expects to take a week to analyze the samples, the spokesman said.

The two men, both believed to be in their 20s, were southbound in a Honda Accord when the driver lost control on a sharp curve in the road, McCausland said.

The car spun and struck a tree backward, exploding not far from one of two rest stops on the road.

Maine State Police responded to the call at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. When State Trooper Corey Hafford arrived at the scene, the car was engulfed in flames, said McCausland.

Stockholm Town Constable Darrell Theriault said the top of the car was crushed.

Hafford determined that the Honda was traveling at an excessive speed, McCausland said.

The Honda, going an estimated 90 mph, passed two vehicles one mile before the crash site, McCausland said.

The Stockholm Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene to extinguish the burning car.