TOWNSHIP 2 RANGE 8 – Two young women were killed Saturday morning when the vehicle they were riding in went off Interstate 95, flipped over and slammed into a tree.

Jonesport resident Hayley Alley, 18, and Millinocket resident Jenna Wyse, 19, were ejected from the 2000 Pontiac Grand Am they were riding in and died at the crash scene, Maine State Police Trooper Jennifer Fiske said Sunday.

Heather Tracy, 18, of Millinocket was driving the vehicle. She was taken on Saturday to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln for treatment and later was released. None of the three teenagers was wearing a seat belt.

The car was heading south, halfway between Lincoln and Medway, when the crash occurred. Initial reports indicate Tracy was attempting to pass another vehicle when she lost control. Based on Tracy’s account, and that of a witness in the vehicle she was attempting to pass, Tracy did not see the vehicle in front of her until it was too late, according to Fiske.

“They came up suddenly on a vehicle in front of them, that the diver hadn’t seen,” the investigating officer said. “She applied her brakes and cut her wheel to the left into the passing lane. She then lost control of the car and it crossed the driving lane again, went down into the ditch and rolled two times, struck a tree and came to rest on the passenger side.”

The state police had several investigators at the scene Saturday and Sunday who spent time reconstructing the crash, Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon the final investigative report on the incident was not available.

“The initial indication is that speed was going to be a factor,” McCausland said.

There was little interior damage to the vehicle, which led Fiske to believe the use of seat belts could have changed the outcome of the accident.

“If they had their seat belts on, it would have greatly increased their chances of survival, in my opinion,” Fiske said.