Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 04/99) - The coroner's office said that the three victims killed in a single vehicle accident on the Ingraham Trail Saturday night, died as a result of drowning.

"It appears that all three drowned," said Chief Coroner Percy Kinney.

"We had a doctor perform a cursory examination of the deceased Sunday morning to see if there were any external injuries and there was nothing identified."

Police reported the driver and four other occupants in a 1996 Buick Regal were on their way to a party at Cameron River Falls.

The driver, 16-year-old Murray Zoe, lost control of the vehicle on a curved section of the road at approximately 10:30 p.m., 35 kilometres east of Yellowknife, near Powder Point.

RCMP said the vehicle subsequently left the road and landed on its roof in a small lake, where the occupants were trapped.

Dead are Zoe and passengers Shannon Templeton and Darren Greenland, both 15 years of age, all of Yellowknife.

Two passengers, Stefany Bulmer and Shane Greenland, were able to escape the submerged vehicle and survive with no significant injuries.

According to Kinney, the body of Zoe was taken to Edmonton for an autopsy.

"We are examining the driver's body as a matter of normal procedure to confirm that he does not have any medical pre-conditions that might have contributed to the accident," Kinney said.

Toxicology tests are also being done to determine if the driver and the deceased passengers were impaired at the time of the accident. Results from the tests will not be known for a few days.

The bodies of Templeton and Darren Greenland have since been released to their families.

Police say that speed was a major contributor in the accident and that an investigation is still ongoing.