CASTINE, Maine — Four students are dead, and three were hurt following a single-car crash in Castine early Saturday morning.
20-year-old Joshua Goncalves-Radding of North Babylon, NY was driving with multiple passengers on Shore Road (Route 166) around 2:07 a.m. when the 2013 Range Rover allegedly went off the road before hitting a tree and bursting into flames, according to an email by the Maine Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Shannon Moss.
Moss confirmed four Maine Maritime Students were killed in the crash. They have been preliminarily identified as 20-year-old Brian Kenealy of York, Maine, 21-year-old Chase Fossett of Gardiner, Maine, 22-year-old Luke Simpson of Rockport, Massachusetts, and 20-year-old Riley Ignacio-Cameron of Aquinnah, Massachusetts.
Moss said three people survived the crash and were also identified as students at Maine Maritime Academy. They were taken to local hospitals for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. They include Goncalves-Radding, 20-year-old Noelle Tavares of North Falmouth, Massachusetts, and 20-year-old Dominick Gecoya of Middleton, Massachusetts.
The president of the Maine Maritime Academy issued the following statement:
"I am devastated to confirm that today Maine Maritime Academy lost four of our students in a single vehicle accident early this morning," Maine Maritime Academy President Jerry S. Paul in an email to the media. "Three others were injured. Our community is grieving for these young lives and for their families. While we have lost beloved members of our student body, tonight there are four families who have lost their children. I ask for continued respect and privacy of our Maine Maritime family. Please hold these young people close to your hearts and in your prayers. We will of course continue to work with the authorities in the coming days and continue to offer counseling support to our students, faculty and staff."
The victims were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta.
Shore Road was closed for more than eight hours while troopers with Maine State Police investigated the crash. The road is back open.
The crash is being investigated.