Four young people died Saturday afternoon in a rollover accident involving an all-terrain vehicle near the town of Liberty in Kittitas County.
At 4 p.m., Kittitas County Sheriff's Office deputies and fire units responded to a 911 report that a Polaris Razor side-by-side ATV rolled and burst into flames while driving on a dirt road in the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest.
Local fire and medic units arrived within minutes at the site near Liberty Road, west of the town of Liberty, to start treating survivors and prevent the gas-fueled fire from spreading, the sheriff's office reported. No other vehicles were involved and no one besides those riding on the Razor was hurt.
The owner and driver of the ATV was Conner Jenkins, 24, of Orting. His friend, Benjamin Gomez Santana, 23, of Covington, also was in the vehicle, along with a couple they met that day, Devon Anonson, 26, of Kent and Halle Cole, 24, of Maple Valley.
Gomez Santana and Cole died at the scene of the accident, deputies reported. Helicopters transported Jenkins and Anonson to Harborview Medical Center's burn center in critical condition, but neither survived the night.
The open field where the accident occurred is a popular recreational spot for campers and ATVs a few miles east of Highway 97 in northern Kittitas County.
The cause of the accident and fire are under investigation, deputies reported.
