An Augusta man died Tuesday after the car he was operating left the road and crashed into a large rock outcrop on Lisbon Road.

Christopher M. Clark, 19, of Augusta was killed in the single-car accident police believe was caused by a fatal combination of speed and alcohol. Sabattus police investigator Jeremy Petty said evidence of alcohol use was found in the wreckage of Clark''s 2001 Chrysler Sebring.

Shawn Staples, 19, of Augusta; Damion Fincher, 18, of Gardiner; and Luman Barnard, 25, of Augusta, were all passengers in the Clark vehicle. Staples and Fincher were thrown from the back seat into the front seat and were reportedly in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center on Wednesday, Sabattus police said.

Contacted Wednesday night, Central Maine Medical Center officials said Staples was "not in our census" and that Fincher''s family had requested no information be released regarding his condition.

Barnard, seated in the front passenger''s compartment, received minor injuries.

"He was the only one wearing a seat belt," Sabattus Police Chief Thomas Fales said. "He was the smart kid."

The accident was reported to police at 4:55 p.m. and occurred on a section of Lisbon Road near the intersection of John Drive, about 21/2 miles from the police station.

Fales said several of his officers and emergency medical crews were on the scene of the crash within minutes. Barnard was the only occupant in the car who could provide the investigators with any immediate, first-hand information.

Fales said Clark''s car was apparently traveling "pretty fast" as it rounded a corner and approached a mile-long straightaway. He said Clark was reportedly "jerking the wheel back and forth" as he sped into the straight section of road -- a risky maneuver that apparently unnerved Barnard enough to fasten his seat belt.

"That what''s saved him," Fales said.

Eventually, Clark''s car crossed the center line, Fales said, and slammed into the ledge.

Reconstruction of the accident is being performed by Maine State Police while Fales and Petty continue to probe activities in the car prior to the crash.

Damage to the Clark vehicle was estimated at around $11,000.

Representatives of the Clark family declined to speak with reporters about the deceased. Last month, Clark was convicted of consuming liquor as a minor on Nov. 18, 2006, and fined $300.

In an obituary submitted to the Kennebec Journal, Clark was described as a young man who "died as he lived, playing and laughing and taking too many risks."