Police estimate car in Maple Grove fatal crash was going 80 mph

article

Police have blocked of Dunkirk Lane North in Maple Grove for the crash. (FOX 9)

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Police say a car that crashed in Maple Grove killing three people, including two toddlers, was traveling about 80 mph in a 45 mph zone.

According to the Maple Grove Police Department, the speed estimate is "conservative." The vehicle appeared to have crossed the median and struck a tree, breaking into two pieces.

Family mourns loss of two children and mother after fatal crash in Maple Grove

A car police think was going 80 mph before it crashed contained three members of a family, including a mother, a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old over the weekend.

Police first responded to the crash Saturday morning just before 7 a.m. near Dunkirk Lane and Lawndale Lane.

Two-year-old Joshua Kendrick, three-year-old Lily Kendrick and 25-year-old Kiara Jones all died in the crash. A passenger, 23-year-old Colin Stanifer-Brown, of Minneapolis, was hospitalized for his injuries but did not die.

Joshua and Lily Kendrick died in a Maple Grove car crash early Saturday morning. (Photo courtesy of Joshua and Lily's family)

Shilpa Kulkarni, who lives near the crash site, said she heard a "big screeching noise" before the incident.

"I heard a man shouting for help, asking if the kids were okay. We could see the people running down to the retention pond," Kulkarni continued. "He was asking, find my kids, are my kids OK, is my kid OK?"