POLAND – Police confirmed Wednesday that a car driven by a 20-year-old Lewiston man spun out of control and crashed into an oncoming car, killing six people on Dec. 24.

The Nissan Altima driven by Michael Cournoyer skidded on black ice, spun backward and slammed into the front of a Dodge Spirit on Route 122 just after midnight on Sunday, an Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department investigator said.

Everyone in the two cars died.

“There was black ice on the road,” Detective Sgt. William Gagne said. “Whether there were other factors involved, that’s all under investigation.”

Police declined to comment on whether speed or alcohol was a factor, but the Sheriff’s Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the crash, Capt. Ray Lafrance said.

Police refused to say why that investigation is under way.

Lafrance did say the investigation would deepen once the funerals for the victims have been held.

The six people killed in the crash were Cournoyer and his passengers, Jacob Roy, 20; Robert Bruce, 19; and Matthew Manley, 18; Steven Walton, 27, the driver of the Dodge Spirit; and his fiancee, Laura Caron, 25. Five of the funerals are scheduled for either today, Friday or Saturday. One remains unscheduled.

After the final funeral, police will reinterview everyone involved, Lafrance said. He declined to speculate on any criminal behavior, though Cournoyer – who was driving with a suspended license – and his three passengers were at a party prior to the crash.

“No one has been charged at this point,” Lafrance said.

That may change. Androscoggin County District Attorney Norman Croteau was among the officials called to the crash scene on Sunday morning, Lafrance said.

Police are still waiting for toxicology reports for both drivers and the report of an accident- reconstruction team from Cumberland County. The reconstruction, telling how fast the cars were going, may take a month. Toxicology, which would include blood-alcohol levels on the bodies of drivers Cournoyer and Walton, could take six months, Lafrance said.

Gagne said the public attention surrounding the accident has been frustrating for investigators. Family, friends and potential witnesses have posted notes on their blogs and to newspaper bulletin boards or have contacted newspapers or television news stations directly.

“But they’re not contacting us,” Gagne said. “It would be nice, if they have enough information to post on their blogs, maybe they could share some of it with police.”

He asked anyone with information to contact him at 784-7361, ext. 214.

“Basically, we have six people dead in this, and we need to retrace their steps and re-create just what they were all doing,” Gagne said. “There’s a lot of rumors going around. If those people passing those rumors can just provide them to us – whatever the facts – it would be a huge help.”

Editor’s note: We’d like to hear from you, our readers, if you know anything about where Michael Cournoyer and his friends were before the Dec. 24 crash that killed six people, where they might have been going, or anything else you’d like to share. If you’d like to talk to us, please send an e-mail to [email protected], or phone 689-2902.