Law enforcers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three men found Friday inside a partially submerged car in a Wagoner County creek near Coweta.

One of the men found dead at the scene was a central figure in the ongoing investigation of the 2006 drowning death of a Broken Arrow teenager at Fort Gibson Lake.

The only survivor, a 21-year-old woman from Mannford, told authorities alcohol may have contributed to the collision. Officials said Sarah Morrow remained in the emergency room Friday for head, arm and leg injuries. Her condition was unavailable Friday evening.

Authorities said the wreck occurred late Thursday on South 353rd East Avenue about a mile north of Coweta between East 81st and 91st streets. Wagoner County Sheriff Johnny Cannon said the car “was found upside down in the creek sometime early Friday.”

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Scott Miller said it appears Brandon Scott Looper, 19, of Coweta lost control of the 1992 Chevrolet Corsica he was driving when he approached a curve at an unsafe speed. Looper’s condition at the time of the crash was unknown Friday.

“The subject ran off the left side of the roadway, overcorrected to the right and vaulted into a creek bed,” Miller states in his report. “The vehicle rolled end-over-end ... coming to rest on its top in approximately 18 inches of water.”

The two remaining passengers riding in Looper’s car were dead when investigators arrived at the scene. Those two men were identified as Matthew Ennes, 25, of Coweta and Brandon Hargrove, 20, of Wagoner. Miller said the cause of the three men’s deaths remains under investigation.

While not much was known about three of the four victims, Hargrove has been a focal point of a two-year investigation into the death of Jarret Clark. The Broken Arrow teenager was reported missing on Mother’s Day in 2006 after he failed to come home after attending a party in the Wahoo Bay area of Fort Gibson Lake.

Clark’s family members and friends were vocal about their suspicions of Hargrove’s role in Clark’s death. But investigators never were able to provide evidence sufficient to file charges in connection with the drowning.

Clark’s parents circulated petitions earlier this year, gathering enough signatures to impanel a Wagoner County grand jury. Court records show grand jury selection was scheduled to begin Dec. 1.

Tammy Slater, who has vowed to pursue answers to all the questions surrounding the death of her son, was unavailable for comment Friday. It is unknown whether the family plans to move forward with the grand jury investigation.

According to the OHP report, Morrow was the only passenger to have been wearing a seat belt. Looper was pinned inside the vehicle for an unspecified period of time. The vehicle was equipped with an air bag, which deployed.

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