Fatal accident on Grant Ave.

Police suspect that excessive speed played a role in a one-car crash that claimed the life of a teenage girl and critically injured a 19-year-old man in Bustleton early Sunday.

The accident occurred at 3:44 a.m. on the 1500 block of Grant Ave., said Officer Jillian Russell, a Philadelphia police spokeswoman. The young man was behind the wheel of a 1995 Ford Explorer traveling eastbound on Grant when he failed to negotiate a turn, crossed into the westbound lane, scaled a curb and struck a tree, Russell said.

The 17-year-old girl was sitting in the front passenger seat and suffered undisclosed injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was taken to Aria Health-Torresdale in “extremely critical” condition for treatment of undisclosed injuries, Russell said.

Police have not released the identities of either person in the Explorer. One broadcast report quoted a relative of the girl, who identified her as a senior at Northeast High School. ••