stettler, alberta

RCMP say alcohol and excessive speed were factors in a crash early Saturday morning that claimed the life of a 17-year-old Stettler, Alta., girl.

She was a passenger in a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck that veered off a gravel road roughly five kilometres northwest of Stettler and struck a stand of trees. The girl died at the scene, said RCMP.

The girl's family has asked police to withhold her name.

Both the driver and the passenger were not wearing seatbelts. The 19-year-old male driver received minor injuries and is in police custody.

The driver has now been charged with operation of a motor vehicle causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and failing to comply with the demand of a peace officer to supply a blood sample. He will appear in a Red Deer, Alta., court on Monday.

RCMP say the investigation is still underway, and more charges are pending.