Drinking and speeding are suspected of being behind a snowmobile crash on a dark Iron Range lake that killed the driver and seriously injured his rider, authorities said.

Chase H. DeDominces, 20, of Duluth, died Monday after suffering head injuries in the crash shortly after 9:30 p.m. March 13 on Pequaywan Lake, about 25 miles northwest of Two Harbors, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.

His rider, Travis P. Wigstrom, 19, also of Duluth, was hospitalized with serious head injuries, the Sheriff's Office added.

DeDominces was driving the snowmobile at a "high speed" when it struck an island in the middle of the lake, throwing both men off the machine, the Sheriff's Office said.

"Alcohol and speed were contributing factors in this accident," a statement from the Sheriff's Office read.

DeDominces graduated with honors in 2013 from Duluth East High School and was pursuing a degree in civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

"If you didn't know where Chase was, you were sure to find him on a northern Minnesota lake or in the woods," read his obituary in the Duluth News Tribune.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482