A teenage girl is dead and a 20-year old man is under arrest after a vehicle left the road and struck a tree early Tuesday morning in Berrien Township.

According to a press release from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were dispatched to a one-vehicle accident near the intersection of Pucker Street and Smith Road at approximately 1:49 a.m.

Upon arrival, officers determined that a 1978 Ford pick-up was traveling north on Pucker Street at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control of the vehicle and went off the roadway and struck a tree.

Deputies found a 19-year-old female passenger was deceased.

Further investigation resulted in deputies locating a 20-year-old male wandering around the area with visible injuries.

Deputies determined the male was the driver of the vehicle. He was transported to Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The male was arrested and police say the Berrien County Prosecutor’s office would be pursuing a charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants causing death.

The name of the victim and the suspect will be released at a later date.

This accident remains under investigation by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department. At this point in the investigation it appears that speed and alcohol were contributing factors, according to police.