A 30-year-old Rhode Island woman was killed early Sunday morning in Bellingham when the sport utility vehicle she was driving struck a tree, in a crash that authorities believe was alcohol-related, police said.

A passenger in the SUV, also from Rhode Island, was seriously injured.

Bellingham police said in a statement that the single-car crash occurred at about 1:30 a.m. when the 2000 Ford Explorer that Jessie Crum, 30, of Warwick, R.I., was driving northbound on Paine Street crossed into the southbound lane and went off the road.

The vehicle later crossed back onto the roadway before careering off the street and over a dirt embankment, striking a large tree in the wooded front yard of 112 Paine St., police said.

Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extract Crum and her passenger, Joshua Champagne, 31, of Harrisville, R.I., from the Explorer, according to the statement.

Crum died a short time later at Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, and Champagne was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he is currently in serious condition, police said.

Bellingham police Sergeant Richard Perry said officers believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. It was not immediately clear if Crum and Champagne were wearing seat belts.

Paine Street remained closed for about three hours after the crash, police said.