Three workers at the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge died Friday night after a car wreck on the Parks Highway.

William Bradley, Nathan Pollard and Jerry Luzzi, all 21-year-olds from California, died when their 2003 Infiniti rolled several times at about 8:33 p.m. Friday.

Friends said it was their third year working the summer in Alaska.

Two others in the car, 20-year-old Matthew Holmes and 19-year-old Christopher Niles, both from Michigan, survived but are hospitalized in critical condition, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

The men had been in Talkeetna for the Fourth of July, and troopers believe they were returning to the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge when the accident happened near Denali National Park, at Mile 131 of the highway.

"They were only two miles from the lodge when they crashed," said trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.

Ipsen said it was a one-vehicle accident and there were no witnesses.

Troopers are still trying to piece together what happened but said all five men were thrown from the vehicle.

None were wearing seat belts, Ipsen said.

Pollard and Luzzi died at the scene, and Bradley died on the way to the hospital, Ipsen said.

Niles was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and transferred Saturday to the critical care unit at Alaska Native Medical Center.

A LifeGuard helicopter flew Holmes to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Three of the men had been at the West Rib Bar in Talkeetna earlier in the day, but only Bradley and Pollard reportedly drank there, and only had a beer each, said Ipsen.

At least some of them were later seen at the park in downtown Talkeetna, "partying with others the same age who may work with them," Ipsen said.

Because of this, troopers say they suspect alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

CLOSE FAMILIES IN CALIFORNIA

The three dead men had all attended La Habra High School in California together, said Edna Salazar of La Habra, whose son was friends with all of them.

"There are a lot of families that are close to these families," Salazar said. "They were very outgoing, very outgoing, happy guys."

She said this was their third year of summer seasonal work in Alaska. In the wintertime, they worked at Mammoth Mountain, a California ski and snowboarding resort.

"They were outdoors types of guys. Snowboarding was their thing when they were at Mammoth," Salazar said.

She said Luzzi lived in La Habra, while Bradley and Pollard were from Whittier, Calif.

Some of the men's friends were at Salazar's home Saturday night, gathering together as details about what happened slowly came out.

Salazar said the parents of the men had already gone up to Alaska to make the necessary arrangements, while the shocking news spread through the community.

Troopers said they believe Bradley was driving when the men left the park in Talkeetna at 7 p.m.

"We don't know for sure who was driving, but based on (reports that) he never lets anyone drive his car, he was probably driving at the time," Ipsen said.

Troopers haven't been able to interview the two survivors because of their severe injuries, Ipsen said. The state medical examiner will perform autopsies on the dead, and the car has been impounded for the investigation, Ipsen said.

Salazar said her family was especially close to Luzzi. Her son knew him since elementary school. He "loved to be around people and people loved to be around him," she said.

"They will be missed terribly," Salazar said.

Find Sean Cockerham at adn.com/contact/scockerham.