One-car crash kills three on impact

Three men were killed late Saturday or early Sunday when a BMW traveling at least 90 mph in a 25 mph zone left the road and smashed into two pine trees, a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said.

Traffic investigators said the 1991 BMW 325 was headed west when the driver lost control on a right-hand curve at 44th Avenue and Eastern Road in southeast Spokane County. The car flew off the road and sheared off a 15-inch-thick pine tree before hitting another tree. It appeared that all three men died on impact, the release said.

A passer-by discovered the crash and called the Sheriff’s Office around 5:18 a.m. Sunday. The time of the crash is not known, but a resident reported hearing a speeding car around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Sheriff’s deputies said a mostly empty bottle of whiskey was found inside the crumpled car, as was a shotgun that was smashed in half by the impact. Two of the occupants were tentatively identified as 21-year-old Spokane residents, but the third carried no identification.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release names following autopsies today, the release said.