OREGON CITY, Ore. — Authorities say three young people died at the scene of a single-vehicle crash Saturday on Southeast Wiese Road in Damascus.
Clackamas County Sgt. Brian Jensen identified the victims as 16-year-old Curtis Sowell of Oregon City, 21-year-old Brenna Collacchi of Clackamas and 21-year-old Drew Noble of Cove in Eastern Oregon.
He said investigators believe excessive speed might have caused Saturday's crash in Damascus. The investigation of the crash remains active.
A witness told KGW the car that crashed was following another car and both were driving very fast. The witness, who did not want to be identified, said 5 seconds later they heard the crash and ran to help.
“My husband and I went to the car to see if there was any way that we could help, and there was no way,” she said.
Neighbors say Wiese Road is deceptively dangerous, with dips, curves, trees and a lack of guardrails. They said the road seems to attract speeders.
Sowell was a junior at Oregon City High School, where he was active in Junior ROTC. Wendy Breedlove, the mother of one of Sowell's friends, said he was a kid who liked to help everyone and make them laugh. She said everybody liked him.
"Just make sure that the word gets out that Curtis was here and he touched us and we’re better people for knowing Curtis, so I’m going to miss him,” she said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Sowell family, to help them with funeral expenses.
KGW's Tim Gordon contributed to this report.