ALLIANCE - Authorities are investigating a fatal single-vehicle accident involving two Alliance teenagers west of town early Sunday morning.

Officers from the Alliance Police Department were dispatched to the scene on Otoe Road around 4:40 a.m., where they discovered a white BMW involved in the crash. Nebraska State Patrol spokesperson Cody Thomas told News Channel Nebraska, a preliminary investigation showed the sedan was traveling eastbound on the road near County Road 62 at a high rate of speed.

The driver of the vehicle, Drayden Sanchez, 18, of Alliance, lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle left the roadway and crashed in a nearby field. Sanchez and his passenger, Noemi Gonzalez, 18, of Alliance, were pronounced deceased at the scene. 

According to a message from Alliance Public Schools, Gonzalez was a current student at the high school and Sanchez was a former student. School counselors will be available at Alliance schools this week to provide support as needed. 

Alliance Police Chief David Leavitt and Alliance Fire Chief Troy Shoemaker expressed their condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones.

The Alliance Volunteer Fire Department and the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing.