SUTTONS BAY -- Andrea Byarski had a warm smile, an endearing personality and an overwhelming love for her dog, a black and white pit bull named Buddha.
"She always called him her baby," said her mother, Lauri Byarkski. "He was like a baby to her."
A long, ragged ditch and shattered tree limbs sit just south of a curve on Leelanau County Road 643 in Centerville Township. Authorities continue to investigate a Sunday night traffic crash that killed Byarski, 20, and her boyfriend, Markus Tarlton, 21.
Police believe Tarlton, who was driving a Subaru Impreza, may have lost control of his vehicle shortly before midnight Sunday. The car left the road, went airborne, rolled and slammed into a tree. Both Tarlton and Byarski were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash, Leelanau County Undersheriff Scott Wooters said, but they're not sure how fast the vehicle was going.
"It's one of the things they'll try to figure out as they continue their investigation," Wooters said.
Investigators also are working to determine what else may have played a role, including wet roads and leaf debris, he said.
Kathy Erway and her husband, who live a few hundred yards from the crash site, came out to look over the scene Monday afternoon. They've seen a few crashes in the area before, Kathy Erway said, and the death of two young adults is particularly tragic.
"Whatever it is, it's a sad story for two families," she said as she overlooked car parts and a smashed road sign at the base of a tree.
Byarski and Tarlton were graduates of Suttons Bay schools. Byarski, who originally was from Bad Axe, worked at the Roman Wheel restaurant in Suttons Bay, her mother said.
April Priest lived across the street from the couple on Sharnowski Road, which intersects County Road 643 only a few miles from the crash site. They lived there for about a year, Priest said, and were a welcome change from a previous string of bad neighbors.
"They were quiet; for the most part they kept to themselves," neighbor April Priest said. "They were very nice."
Funeral arrangements for Byarski likely will be handled in Bad Axe, Lauri Byarski said. Tarlton's family could not be located for comment.
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