Two dead, two injured in Minneapolis crash

Two people died and two others were injured in a two-vehicle crash in a north Minneapolis alley Friday night.

Minneapolis police said the driver of a van had been fleeing a previously reported hit-and-run crash just before 8 p.m. 

While responding to that hit-and-run, "an officer observed two vehicles pass by him at a very high rate of speed. The officer was able to get the second vehicle stopped in the area of 27th and Russell. In speaking with the driver, the officer found that the vehicle he had stopped was the original victim of the hit and run they were investigating," according to a police news release.

The officer continued in the direction the suspect vehicle had traveled and found a crash scene in an alley between Penn and Queen avenues, near Lowry Avenue. Police said the initial investigation indicates that the van struck two utility poles and another vehicle, then rolled over.

One person from the van and one from the vehicle that was hit in the alley died at the scene. Two other people were taken to a hospital. The names of those involved in the crash were not immediately released, but authorities said all were adults.

"Speed and impairment are possible factors being investigated in regards to this crash," police said.

The crash remains under investigation.