Bay Center, WA : 20-year-old dies after a collision in Pacific County on Saturday, June 25, 2016

A 20 year-old man, Austin J. Rojas, died at the scene of a June 25 collision.

The two-vehicle accident occurred at about 5 p.m., as Rojas was driving eastbound near the 200 block of the Bay Center Dike Road, according to a June 28 press release from Pacific County Sheriff’s Office.

When a PCSO deputy arrived at the scene, emergency responders were performing life-saving measures on Rojas. Isidro Morales, who is 59 or 60, and his young adult son, Miguel Morales, told police they had been driving westbound on the road, when they saw an oncoming vehicle that was driving at a very high speed, PCSO Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Matlock said on June 28.

The wreck is still under investigation, so deputies do not know know exactly how fast Rojas was going. However, there are preliminary indications that he may have been driving 70 miles per hour or more in the 40 mile-per-hour zone, Matlock said.

As the Morales men watched, Rojas appeared to lose control of his 2006 Toyota Scion, and swerved into their lane. Isidro Morales braked, hoping to avoid a collision, but Rojas’s Scion struck them, pushing their 2010 Ford Taurus off the road.

Matlock said preliminary reports do not indicate whether any of the men were wearing seatbelts, but Rojas was partially ejected from his vehicle. Police do not currently know whether alcohol or drugs were a factor.

Responders pronounced Rojas dead. The other men did not have any apparent injuries, but were taken to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution. A Washington State Patrol Accident Reconstruction Technician responded to the scene, to conduct a technical reconstruction of the accident, the press release said.

Deputies also spoke with a witness from a nearby home who observed Rojas’s vehicle moments before the collision. The witness, who heard the noise of the collision, told deputies that Rojas appeared to be driving at a very high speed.

According to social media profiles and news reports, Rojas attended Taholah High School, where he had a prominent athletic career, playing football and baseball, and running track. His identification listed an address in Taholah, but Matlock said investigators are still trying to learn where he lived prior to his death, and what brought him to Bay Center.

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20-year-old dies in Bay Center collision