A single-vehicle crash that occurred just north of Albany just after midnight Sunday took the lives of two individuals, Oregon State Police reported.
A Philomath resident was one of two passengers transported to a hospital with injuries.
OSP was dispatched at 12:04 a.m. Dec. 22 to the scene of the crash at the intersection of Century Drive NE and Murder Creek Drive NE. The preliminary investigation indicated that Kyle Gene Luca, 41, of Albany, was driving north in a Toyota 4Runner and left the roadway for unknown reasons, began to roll and ejected three of the four occupants.
Lucas and a passenger, Justin Shaun Bottcher, 36, of Albany, were declared deceased at the scene. Two passengers, a 41-year-old Philomath woman and a 40-year-old Albany man, were transported to an area hospital with injuries.
According to OSP, speed was considered to be the primary cause of the crash. The three occupants ejected were not wearing seatbelts.