Police Release Identities of Teens Killed in Union Crash

The Knox County Sheriff's Department has released the names of two teens who were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Saturday night. A third teenager sustained non-life threatening injuries.

WABI-TV reports the accident happened just before midnight Saturday night, when a car driven by 17-year-old Caleb Byras of Litchfield failed to stop for a Knox County Sheriff's Deputy. The same deputy had pulled Byras over earlier in the evening and given him a ticket for speeding. Sometime after that traffic stop, Byras picked up two other passengers.

Rather than pulling over for the deputy, Byras sped off, and the cruiser followed, losing sight of the car at one point. The deputy continued on, eventually coming on the accident scene where the vehicle had left the road, hitting a tree on the opposite side of the road so hard that it split the vehicle into two pieces. Also killed in the crash was 16-year-old Kara Brewer of Rockland. A 17-year-old girl from Warren, who was reportedly in the backseat, sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Police say speed was a factor in the crash on the Wotton's Mill Road in Union. Maine State Police and the Knox County Sheriff's Office are investigating.