A speeding driver crashed into the rear end of a semitrailer truck, killing two people on eastbound Interstate 694 in Fridley on Friday night, the State Patrol said.

The male driver "was traveling at a very high rate of speed" when he rear-ended the Freightliner commercial truck, according to Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske.

Drivers in the area were forced to take alternate routes for several hours because eastbound lanes in the area from Central Avenue to Silver Lake Road were temporarily shut down. The crash was reported at 8:13 p.m. just east of Central at Matterhorn Drive, where there is no exit.

The two people killed were in the car, but their names were not released. A child was also involved but appeared to be uninjured, a sheriff's dispatcher said. The truck driver, Steven Pothen, 68, of Wadena, Minn., was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.

JOY POWELL