Two men from Ontario are dead and a third has been hospitalized following a late night rollover near Medicine Lake.

According to Jasper RCMP Sgt. David Maludzinski, the Chevrolet Suburban rolled over sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday, August 15. The vehicle was on the tip of Medicine Lake closest to Maligne Lake traveling back to Jasper and was coming into a sharp right hand turn when the driver lost control and crashed. Sgt. Maludzinski said he believed that the driver of the vehicle was one of the people killed.

The destroyed vehicle, so badly twisted that much of the vehicle’s roof was bent over level with the middle frame, was not actually discovered until some time after the accident. Emergency responders reached the scene of the crash at 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

Sgt. Maludzinski said that the surviving passenger is currently in hospital in stable condition and is cooperating with the police and helping to ascertain the facts surrounding the accident.

The three men involved in the accident, 24, 33 and 32 years old, do not appear to have been related. The two men who died were from the Toronto-Mississauga region of Ontario, while the third is from parts yet to be determined. The vehicle they were driving had Ontario plates.

The names of the men have not yet been released. It is believed that they were vacationing in the area.

Sgt. Maludzinski said that speed appeared to be a factor in the accident and alcohol or drug use may also be a factor, although this has yet to be determined. Toxicology reports from the deceased men should help to determine whether the men were under the influence of any improper substances.

Sgt. Maludzinski said police will be trying to determine why the three men were in the Maligne Lake region so late at night.

“Most locals know to take that road fairly slowly, but sometimes people from out of town just don’t take it properly,” said Sgt. Maludzinski. “It’s not a road that you can really afford to let your guard down on.”

He advised people to drive the Maligne Lake Road at reasonable speeds and to not drive the winding and twisting mountainous road in the dark unless it’s absolutely necessary.