A CAIRNS cane farming family heard a deafening boom and rushed outside to find an unthinkable tragedy on their doorstep in Cairns overnight.

Police crash investigators remain on scene at Lower Freshwater Rd at Kamerunga after a fiery crash killed an 18-year-old man and the 17-year-old girl in his passenger seat about 9.30pm last night.

The twisted shell of the incinerated Toyota 86 coupe they were driving has been lugged away on the back of a truck, leaving only a patch of blackened earth at the base of the power pole they smashed into.

Ergon crews are preparing to replace the damaged power pole, just as Forensic Crash Sergeant Scott Ezard shuffles about with a camera to document the scene's swerving tyre tracks and any other clues to how such a dreadful situation arose.

Despite all the warnings, it appears speed was a contributing factor.

Sgt Ezard described the hellish scene that confronted the residents of a house across the road from the crash site after they heard the deadly thump.

The car was engulfed in flames by the time they got to the front door.

"They were exceptionally distraught," Sgt Ezard said.

"They had to go home, they didn't want to stay and witness what had occurred.

"It was a devastating scene.

"Two young people … hard to recognise … just because of the extent of injuries they sustained …"

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The two young victims were both from Kanimbla.

The quiet rural roads not far from the crash site have plenty of signs of hooning with fishtail skid marks a common site along Lower Freshwater Rd.

A definitive cause of last night's tragic crash will take some time and investigation to determine, but speed appears to be a major factor.

Sgt Ezard said the car had come through a bend in the road, lost control and rotated in a clockwise direction before leaving the road and striking the power pole.

"Early indications are that speed was a contributing factor to this incident," he said.

"It's fairly disheartening considering the warnings that we've been giving out over a number of weeks leading up to this.

"People just aren't getting this message: If you don't drive to the conditions, if you speed, if you use drugs, if you drink with alcohol in your system, you will be involved in a fatal or serious traffic crash.

"Unfortunately we're a week out from Christmas and two young people have now lost their lives."

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Ergon crews and crash investigators will remain at the scene for some time today.

"We can come to a scene and examine what evidence is at a scene and get a fairly early indicator as to what is a contributing factor," Sgt Ezard said.

"There's other things that we need to look at here - whether drugs or alcohol might be a contributing factor.

"So we can't be conclusive in saying speed alone is a contributing factor until we've completed a full investigation."

The car, or what is left of it, will also be mechanically inspected.

It happened so quickly there was nothing anybody could have done to save the young pair from the flames.

"Nothing whatsoever," Sgt Ezard said.