2 people die in burned car after crash

NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Two people died after their car crashed into a tree and burst into flames, according to the Berrien County Sheriff's Department

Aleksandra Strikas, 22, of LaGrange, Ill., and Matthew Ross, 25, of Harbert had to be identified through medical and dental X-rays.

Strikas was the owner and driver of the car.

Preliminary toxicology tests from the Berrien County Medical Examiner's Office determined that alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to a news release.

A passerby reported an unknown fire at 12:37 a.m. Saturday in a wooded area near Marquette Drive and Lakeshore Drive in New Buffalo Township.

Deputies arrived and found a vehicle in the front yard of a residence, in the 16500 block of Lakeshore Drive, engulfed in flames.

New Buffalo Township firefighters extinguished the fire, and the victims were then found deceased in the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, police said.

The car had been traveling at a high rate of speed on eastbound Marquette Drive when Strikas did not stop at a stop sign at Lakeshore Drive, resulting in the vehicle crossing the road, striking a tree, bursting into flames, and coming to rest in the yard, police said.

There were no witnesses to the accident.