GREENE – Police say speed and driver inexperience played roles in a car accident that sent five teenagers to the hospital late Monday afternoon.

Androscoggin Sheriff’s Department Deputy Tim Kachnovich said the 2006 Chrysler convertible was being driven by an unlicensed 16-year-old girl at 4:30 p.m. on Allen Pond Road. Her passengers were 16 to 18 years old.

One of the passengers, Shane Luce, 18, of Greene was being treated at Central Maine Medical Center for a broken back, according to Kachnovich.

A nurse supervisor at the Lewiston hospital reported that Luce was in serious condition Monday night.

The four others in the crash were taken to Central Maine Medical Center or St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, the deputy said. Their parents were notified, and they were treated and released, he said.

The other passengers, who live in Auburn, Poland and Greene, were not identified because they are all under 18 years old, Kachnovich said.

The car, owned by Marie Cooper of Auburn, was demolished.

“The operator had only a driver’s permit,” he said. “That is where the inexperience came into play.”

Kachnovich said the driver was going “too fast for the winding road” and lost control of the car. It struck an embankment, rolled over once and landed on its roof.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department is investigating and Kachnovich said charges against the driver “are pending.”

One of the passengers had to be extricated from the mangled car by Greene Fire and Rescue, Kachnovich said.

United Ambulance also responded to the scene.

Kachnovich was not sure where the group of teenagers were headed or what they were doing.

“It seems that they were just out for a ride,” he said.