A Clinton man died early Wednesday when the vehicle he was driving on Bangor Road in Benton went off the road and struck a tree, according to Kennebec County Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Read.
Read said in a phone interview Thursday that Christian Yahnel, 20, was driving on Bangor Road about 1:10 a.m. Wednesday when the crash occurred, and no other vehicles were involved.
Kennebec County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of the crash, and Yahnel was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Read.
A preliminary investigation revealed speed and alcohol might have been factors in the crash, he said.
No additional information was available on the crash as of mid-afternoon Thursday.
Yahnel’s obituary, posted on Lawry Brothers & Wheeler Funeral Homes, says he was born in 1998 in Oceanside, California, the son of Rebecca Rowe and Eric Yahnel.
He attended Marinette High School in Marinette, Wisconsin, for three years and finished his senior year at Lawrence High School in Fairfield. He was an active duty infantryman in the Army from Jan. 17, 2017, to Jan. 27, 2019, according to the obituary.
Yahnel is survived by his wife, Alexis Yahnel, and their son, Everett.
“Christian loved hunting, hanging with his friends, and being an amazing husband and father,” the obituary says.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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