SALISBURY — Two teenagers were airlifted to Boston hospitals late Wednesday night, and two others were transported to Anna Jaques Hospital after the car they were driving in crashed into a Ferry Road telephone pole hard enough to split the pole in half.

According to Salisbury Detective Mark Thomas, at 10:43 Wednesday night, police responded to a single-car accident on Ferry Road in the Longmeadow Drive area, where they found that a gray, 2005 Mitsubishi carrying four teenagers had smashed into the pole dead center.

"We believe speed was a factor in the accident," Thomas said. "The accident is still under investigation by Sgt. Robert Roy of the accident reconstruction team. But there's evidence the car may have been traveling at twice the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour."

Charges of reckless driving, speeding and marked lane violation are being brought against the driver, Jarred Laliberte, 19, of 21 Gage St., Methuen.

Laliberte was one of the two people airlifted to Boston Wednesday night; the other is a 16-year-old female from Salisbury. Police did not release her name because she is a juvenile.

Police said they gave a citation for a moving violation to Laliberte just hours before the crash. It has not yet been determined whether alcohol was involved in the accident.

"We're also investigating information that the driver may have been distracted because he was talking on his cell phone at the time," Thomas said.

Salisbury fire Chief Rick Souliotis said firefighters arrived to find the pole snapped in half, live wires on the street, two victims walking around outside the car, and two teens inside the car too injured to get out themselves.

"The driver had facial injuries, and the (juvenile female) sitting in the back seat was also still inside the car when we got there. She appeared disoriented. Within about 20 minutes, all four were on the way to Anna Jaques in two AMR ambulances," Souliotis said.

The other two teens involved in the accident were 18-year-old males. Thomas did not release their names or addresses.

Thomas said police believe the driver and some of the other teens may not have been wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

Police Sgt. Roy and Salisbury officers Bruce Dow and Craig LeSage responded to the accident. LeSage had stopped Laliberte about two hours before the accident, citing him for a moving traffic violation.

"I stopped him on Beach Road because he was tailgating cars in front of him and driving inappropriately," LeSage said. "He apologized and took the citation. There were two people in the car at that time, and they were wearing their seat belts. He was going to drop off his girlfriend at her house. Then he headed back down the beach."

Thomas said because Laliberte had been cited within hours of the traffic accident, Salisbury police are investigating whether there is evidence enough to file an imminent threat case against Laliberte with the state Registry of Motor Vehicles. Should Salisbury act, and the RMV agree, the Registry can take Laliberte's license away immediately, Thomas said.