Two Harvard men died when their UTV crashed near Hebron late Saturday.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said the preliminary investigation shows a 40-year-old Harvard man was driving the UTV (utility terrain vehicle) eastbound at a high rate of speed along Thayer Road near Hebron. He had two passengers, a 36-year-old Harvard man and a 35-year-old man from San Carlos, California. At about 10:50 p.m. Saturday, the UTV veered off the road and severed a utility pole, downing power lines and causing a power outage in the area.

The UTV rolled over several times, ejecting the driver, came to rest upright in a ditch and caught fire, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The two men from Harvard were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, authorities said; the man from California suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention.

According to police, alcohol is believed to have played a role in the crash. The accident remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Accident Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.

In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, there is the Hebron Alden Greenwood Fire Protection District, the Harvard Fire Protection District, Woodstock Fire & Rescue, and the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District.

The accident caused a section of Thayer Road to be closed for several hours late Saturday evening and into Sunday morning.