In crash that killed 3 Carleton students, speed and alcohol not factors

Posted: 03/01/2014 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated: 03/01/2014 12:02:20 PM CST

Although the accident remains under investigation, it seems that neither alcohol nor excessive speed were factors in the Dakota County crash that killed three Carleton College students Friday.

James Adams, 20, of St. Paul; Michael Goodgame, 20, of Westport, Conn.; and Paxton Harvieux, 21, of Stillwater all died in the collision about a mile north of Northfield on Minnesota Highway 3.

At a news conference Saturday, Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said a Toyota 4Runner containing the three men, as well as two others, lost control on the icy road and slide sideways into the path of an oncoming semi.

The three men who died were pronounced dead at the scene. The two other men who were in the vehicle, driver William Sparks, 20, of Evanston, Ill., and passenger Conor Eckert, 19, of Seattle, were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where they are belived to be in serious condition. The driver of the semi, 56-year-old Terry Danner of Pioneer, Tenn., was not injured.

Roeske said icy roads around the metro demand extra caution and attentiveness from drivers.

'I know it sounds like white noise, because we hear it all the time,' he said. 'But we really need to be careful out there.'