Four young adults died after being ejected from a one-vehicle crash early Wednesday in rural Warren County.

The tragic beginning to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend increased the number of area traffic deaths to 13 in recent weeks.

Killed in the high-speed crash were Jonathan Kroninger, 21, of Massie Twp., Benjamin Edwards, 26, of Oregonia, Brittany Gerondale, 26, of Morrow, and Rose Feltner, 22, of New Vienna.

It is the fourth recent one-car crash in which in a young driver lost control of their vehicle. Police said the vehicle belonged to Kroninger but it remained unclear who was driving in Wednesday’s crash.

The four friends were in a northbound 1995 Ford F-250 truck on Harveysburg Road that went off the west side of the road and rolled several times before coming to rest in the front yard of a farm in Massie Twp., south of Harveysburg and Caesar Creek Lake, police said.

The truck, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, apparently initially lost control in a curve just south of the crash site and went off the road in the farm yard, according to police. The victims, who police said were not wearing seatbelts, were found at least 75 feet apart. The road, near Interstate 71, was blocked for about seven hours at both ends while emergency crews worked.

Lt. Matt Hamilton of the Ohio Highway Patrol said the four were playing cards and at least some of them were drinking at a residence a mile away from the crash site where Kroninger was living after returning to the area from Newark, near Columbus.

“He just moved back,” Hamilton said. “He just lives a mile down the road.”

Debris, including a floormat hanging from a tree branch and beer cans, marked the path of the truck, which came to rest 100 feet off the road.

“It further solidifies it was a very violent crash,” Hamilton said.

Timothy Back, who owns the property where the truck landed, said he was astonished by the crash.

“I’ve never seen nothing like it, I really haven’t. Tools, clothing articles, shoes, everything is in the yard,” Back said.

Kroninger and Edwards both attended Clinton-Massie High School.

Edwards was the father of two young girls, Kylee, 3, and Ella, 18 months, according to his wife, Cara Edwards. The couple was separated, she said.

“He was a really good guy and a really good father,” she said. “The girls being so young, they won’t get that chance to know who he was.”

Edwards was out after working a late shift at Clarke Power Services in Sharonville. He had worked on a production line at the plant since 2005, officials said.

Feltner had been dating Kroninger and was playing cards with him and the other two victims, her aunt, Robin Campbell said.

“She was just hanging with some friends last night. This is what happened,” said Campbell, who is to be married Saturday in Kettering.

Feltner worked at Lowe’s in Wilmington and was separated from her husband, Campbell said.

The families of the victims were all stricken by the news, Hamilton said.

“This is tragic news for any family, especially this close to the Thanksgiving weekend,” he said.

Deaths on Ohio’s roads are on pace to surpass 2011’s full-year total during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

There have been 1,004 traffic fatalities in 2012 through Tuesday. In 2011, there were 1,015 traffic deaths – an all-time low. During last year’s Thanksgiving four-day holiday stretch, 17 people were killed on Ohio’s roads.

Eleven area teenagers were killed in similar crashes in the past month.

Sugarcreek Twp. residents Julianna Hawk, 14; Sophie Kerrigan, 17; and Skylar Kooken, 16; died Nov. 4 in Greene County after crashing into a tree. Shaun Frechette, 17, of Springboro, died Nov. 1 in a one-car crash in Warren County, while driving to school at Springboro High School, two days before his undefeated football team’s playoff game.

Cousins Austin Henson-Meade, 16, and Justice Meade, 16, and friend Brian Mendenhall, 15; all of Greenville, died in an one-car crash on Oct. 27 in Darke County.

In addition to three teens, the Greenville area also lost two adults in crashes on Oct. 27. These brought to 16 the number of fatalities on Darke County roads in 2012 – double the total for all of 2011. Joseph H. Winhoven, 50, of Greenville died in an early-morning two crash at U.S. 127 and Ohio 47. Lisa A. Wright, 43, of Arcanum died in a two-car crash about 1:30 p.m. at U.S. 127 and Ohio 503.

Today’s crash was the 18th fatal in Warren County this year, claiming 23 lives, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

An unrelated accident also in Warren County sent three people to the hospital on Wednesday morning. Two cars collided at the intersection of Ohio 123 and Ohio 350 near Ohio 123’s interchange with I-71 in Turtlecreek Twp., according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. One person was trapped in the car and had to be extricated. None of the injuries were considered life threatening, an officer with the Highway Patrol said. The accident remains under investigation.

Amelia Robinson and Nick Graham contributed to this report.