BRADY TWP, Clarion County — Investigators suspect speed may have played a role in a weekend boat crash that killed three men — two from Butler County — on the Allegheny River near East Brady.

Alcohol also has not been ruled out as a factor.

But authorities on Sunday admitted they have more questions than answers as they try to determine what caused the deadly crash Saturday morning.

The lone survivor could hold the key in unraveling the mystery, according to Gregory Pochron, a waterways conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Rescuers pulled the man, believed to be in his 70s, from the capsized boat that slammed into the shore. He was conscious and alert but injured.

The man, whose name was not immediately released, provided officials with at least one clue before he was later flown by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

“He said he had been under the boat for quite a while,” Pochron said.

He possibly owes his life to an air pocket that was in front of the upside down boat where he was trapped, according to Clarion County Coroner Terry Shaffer.

Investigators said they had hoped to speak with the man Sunday. Telephone calls to Pochron and other fish and boat commission officials were not returned this morning.

The wife of one the men on the 21-foot Sea Ray ski boat discovered the wreckage and called 911 at 6:38 a.m.

Shaffer identified those killed as Chad Wilson, 34, of Prospect; Joe Wrbas, Jr., 48, of Butler; and Timothy Jones, 62, of Tarentum, Allegheny County.

The cause and manner of their deaths are pending autopsies, which were planned to begin this morning at the Erie County Coroner’s office.

Investigators said the wreckage indicated that the boat, which has an inboard/outboard motor, crashed into the river bank and flipped at least one time.

“The boat hit and went up the shoreline at an angle,” Pochron said. “At one point we think it went airborne and overturned.”

Authorities as of Sunday still had not identified the owner of the boat or who was driving it.

One investigator, who did not want to be identified, said authorities found cans of beer at the scene to suggest that one or more of the men was drinking.

It appeared that the survivor, believed to be Wrbas’ father, was the only one wearing a life jacket.

Speed was a possible factor.

“There were reports that the boat was racing up and down the river,” Shaffer said.

Other campers, he said, last reported hearing the boat about 1:30 a.m.

Physical evidence suggested the boat was going fast.

“The boat may have been operating at a high speed based on the impact of it into the shoreline,” Pochron said.

The boat’s windshield was sheared off and the watercraft had significant damage.

Investigators do not know why the boat crashed so close to shore. Weather conditions could be one answer.

“We don’t know what the visibility was at that time of night,” Pochron said. “One person said it had rained, but we don’t know if the conditions were foggy.”

Another unanswered question is when the men went out on the boat. They were apparently at a camp they frequented across the river in Wattersonville, Armstrong County.

The camp is 200 to 300 yards from where the crash happened.

Authorities have been unable to find anyone who witnessed the wreck.

“We’re hoping to speak to the (victims’) family members (Sunday),” Pochron “and canvass the area to find anyone who may have seen or heard the crash.”

Investigators are particularly eager to talk to the wife who found the capsized boat.

“She woke up and found that the (victims) were not there, and the boat was gone,” Pochron said. “She went down to the water and found it.”

State police were initially called and assisted the fish and boat commission.

Shaffer said the overturned boat was partially on the bank and in the water.

The three deceased men were in the back of the boat, which was in the water. The survivor was in the front.

“Apparently there was an air pocket in the front of the boat,” Shaffer said. “He was very lucky because we believe he was there for hours.”