Two 23-year-old men were in critical condition Monday at a Twin Cities hospital after being injured in a two-vehicle crash at 8:12 p.m. Saturday on Crow Wing County Road 49, also known as Wise Road, near Ponds Edge Trail just north of Brainerd, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The driver of one of the vehicles, Justin Don Dechon of Litchfield, and his passenger, Jacob Steven Steininger of Brainerd, were both unresponsive at the scene and the Brainerd Fire Department had to extricate them from their vehicle. Dechon and Steininger were transported by North Memorial Ambulance to Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd before being airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

The driver of the second vehicle, Mary Kaye Scott, 61, of rural Brainerd, and her passenger, Aliyah Rae Scott, 5, were transported by private vehicle to Essentia Health and have since been released.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Other agencies assisting the sheriff’s department at the scene were the Brainerd Police Department and State Patrol.