3 dead after car slams into tree in southern Wake County

WILLOW SPRING, N.C. (WTVD) -- Three people are dead after a crash overnight Friday in southern Wake County.

It happened around 1:30 a.m. in the area of Willow Spring. Investigators said a driver went off Kennebec Road at Plum Bush Court before slamming into a tree.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers found two people ejected from the vehicle. They were later identified as Omar Pizana Sanchez, 30, of Raleigh and Pablo Rangel, 27, of Raleigh.

A third person was found deceased inside the vehicle. The person was later identified as Ernesto Pina Esparza, 26, of Willow Spring.

NCSHP is working to determine who was driving the vehicle.

Alcohol and speed are believed to be contributing factors.