The Wisconsin State Patrol has arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of causing a crash that killed two and injured six on Interstate 94 early Saturday, and then fleeing the scene.

The crash happened just west of Eau Claire about 2:40 a.m. Witnesses told police two westbound vehicles collided and one left the scene.

The collision caused a van carrying eight people to flip over, travel through the ditch on the north side of the road and land in the tree line, the patrol said. Two of the passengers were not wearing seat belts, and were ejected from the van and killed, patrol said.

The six others were taken to area hospitals and treated for noncritical injuries.

Troopers found the black hood of a car near the crash, and a little more than an hour later, Dunn County Sheriff's deputies found an abandoned black Toyota Camry with "heavy front-end damage" on a dead-end road just southeast of Menomonie, the patrol said.

Around 6:45 a.m., deputies found Michael D. Sonnentag, 21, of Cadott, Wis., walking along a road in Menomonie. Police said he was the driver and owner of the Camry. He was arrested and charged with drunken driving and two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle.

Police held off Saturday releasing the names of the victims in the van while they tried to notify relatives.

Adam Belz • 612-673-4405