CLIFTON — A motorcycle accident on Route 9 left two people dead Sunday evening, according to Chief Deputy Troy Morton of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

Morton said that officers received a call at 6:02 p.m. that there had been an accident on Route 9, about a quarter-mile east of Yawaca Road. Witnesses said two people on a motorcycle were traveling east and passing other vehicles. The motorcycle crossed into the lane of oncoming traffic and left the roadway, went down an embankment and crashed into some trees.

Morton said speed was a factor in the accident, and the two people on the motorcycle, a man and a woman, were not wearing helmets. They were ejected from the bike when they hit a guardrail, he said.

Both died at the scene. Police are not releasing information on their identities at this time.

The Sheriff’s Department is reconstructing the accident with assistance from Maine State Police. Anyone who has information about the accident can call the Sheriff’s Department at 947-4585.