A car wreck that left two teens dead and one in critical condition on Feb. 10 was caused by excessive speed, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

Timothy Katafias, 18, died as a result of injuries he sustained after driving a car almost twice the speed limit on Fairview Road near Chickamauga Lake, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Janice Atkinson. As the car went over a hill into a sharp turn. Katafias lost control of the vehicle - a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis - sending it into the air and into a tree, Atkinson said.

Katafias' sister, 16-year-old Torri, was killed in the crash and their friend, 18-year-old Craig Albert Lemay, was injured.

No mechanical issues, roadway designs or adverse surface conditions contributed to the crash, and there is no evidence Katafias was intoxicated or distracted, Atkinson said.

Investigators determined Katafias was driving between 57 and 62 mph.

"It's simple physics," Sgt. Mark Kimsey said. "Just using Newton's three laws to study a body in motion, which is all the car is."

Kimsey said the investigation is closed, and a final report will soon be submitted.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.