A serious traffic crash on Orcas last week that resulted in two Orcas residents being airlifted to the hospital, may have been caused by excessive speed, according to Sheriff Bill Cumming.

The sheriff’s office report said that a witness to the accident on a privately owned stretch of Raccoon Point Road near Coho Point Road on July 8, reported that the 1998 Toyota pickup being driven by Orcas resident Jeremiah Asher, 29, had been traveling at a high rate of speed moments before hitting a high embankment.

The truck went off the roadway at 2:10 p.m., rolled over several times and landed on its side. Asher was ejected from the vehicle and was lying partially under it when paramedics arrived. He was airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries.

An unidentified 18-year-old female passenger, also from Orcas, suffered minor injuries. Although she was conscious and walking around when medical rescue got to the scene, she was later airlifted to the hospital complaining of neck pain.

According to Cumming, the driver was using a suspended license in the second degree.