HERMON — Family, friends and teachers on Monday mourned the loss of two local people who died in a weekend snowmobile crash.

Jason Teifert, 21, and his passenger, Aleasha Godin, 17, a senior at Hermon High School, decided to go for an early Sunday morning snowmobile ride with friends that turned deadly when the sled they were riding hit a tree at the edge of a field, according to a Sunday news release issued by Maine Warden Service Lt. Kevin Adam.

Fred Richards Jr. said the two spent their final hours with other friends at his home, a farm across the street from the field where the crash occurred. A wide path of snowmobile tracks could be seen cutting through the field on Monday. Where the path neared the woods a few hundred yards from Kelley Road, a distinct single trail could be seen breaking off and ending in a clump of damaged trees.

“Teif,” as he was called, was leading two other sleds on a quick ride across the field just before 2 a.m. Sunday, but was not at the farm when the other two sleds returned, Richards said Monday. After a couple of minutes, the others went looking for their missing friends.

Richards said he was already in bed when he learned of the fatal crash.

“This is your nightmare,” said Richards, president of the Levant Snowmobile Club. “When I got off the sled I was devastated, as all the kids were. The kids totally lost their composure.”

Richards said Teifert complained of a stomach ache when he arrived at the farm at 11:30 p.m. Saturday and did not drink alcohol, but Richards could not say if the young man had been drinking before his arrival. He said Teifert had not been feeling well in recent weeks, including one instance when he passed out at work.

“There is a lot of stuff that doesn’t add up,” the longtime family friend said. “I think something happened to Teif. He could have had a ministroke or something. I need answers. I’m waiting for answers.”

Whether alcohol was a factor was unknown Monday, pending blood alcohol tests. The snowmobile also will be inspected to determine if there was a mechanical malfunction, Adam said. Neither Teifert nor Godin was wearing a helmet, the warden said.

Teifert’s mother noticed nothing out of the ordinary when she said goodbye to her son Saturday night.

“There is really nothing to tell,” Claudia Teifert wrote in a Monday text message interview. “He went to his friend’s house. And went for a snowmobile ride in the field. The rest you know.”

Claudia Teifert was at home when a friend of her son called and told her about the crash.

Jason Teifert loved to fish and spent part of last summer in Alaska reeling in some big catches, his mother said.

“He was loved beyond measure,” she said. “He had the kindest heart and lived every day to its fullest.”

Teifert and Godin had known each other for about a decade, Richards said.

Godin, who was part of the Hermon High School yearbook club and an automotive services student at the United Technologies Center in Bangor, was well-known and well-liked, assistant Hermon High principal Micah Grant said Monday.

“She was really involved taking photos, editing stuff, doing things like that” for the yearbook club, Grant said. “She was really well-known. Aleasha had a very close core group of friends. She was a senior and was well-liked.”

Grief counselors and licensed specialists from the middle school and neighboring schools converged on the high school to help any of the more than 500 students, and any staff, who needed assistance, Grant said.

“They have definitely utilized those people,” the assistant principal said of those close to Godin.

“People know each other,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community.”

As word spread about the snowmobile crash, one friend set up an “In Loving Memory of Aleasha Godin” Facebook page for the Hermon girl’s friends to leave messages. Another friend is planning a memorial snowmobile ride in her honor.

“She was just an all around amazing girl,” said Janell Martin, a member of Godin’s extended group of friends. “She gave off a vibe of energy always and was constantly there when friends needed her.”

Godin “enjoyed four wheeling, snowmobiling, racing at Speedway 95, bonfires and hanging out with friends,” and is survived by her parents and a brother, all of Hermon, according to her obituary.

Family and friends are invited to a memorial service honoring Godin’s life at noon Saturday at Morgan Hill Event Center in Hermon, it states.

There are around 90,000 snowmobiles registered each year in Maine, and about 80 percent of those sleds belong to Maine residents, according to a January 2014 Bangor Daily News story about increasing snowmobiling safety to reduce crashes.

Of the 186 snowmobile crashes reported in Maine during the 2013 snowmobile season, 119 caused personal injury, and at least four involved fatalities.

Driving under the influence, speeding, operating in adverse weather conditions and operating on unfamiliar bodies of water are common contributing factors in fatal snowmobile incidents, according to the Maine Warden Service and Maine Snowmobile Association.

“This makes four fatalities this season,” said Bob Meyers, executive director for the Maine Snowmobile Association, who described the crash in Glenburn as a “terrible” incident. “That’s pretty low. Overall, it’s been a pretty safe season as far as accidents.”

Wardens, firefighters from Glenburn and Hudson, G&H Ambulance, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine State Police went to the scene of the crash and were assisted by Glenburn Snowmobile Club members.