A speeding car slammed into a line of three vehicles stopped at a Minneapolis traffic light early Sunday morning, killing two people in a chain-reaction crash.

The collision occurred about 1:25 a.m. at the intersection of Olson Hwy. and Morgan Avenue N., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Three vehicles, headed eastbound, were stopped at the traffic light, when a white car rammed into the last vehicle from behind, killing that vehicle's two occupants, police said.

The two victims were a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, according to the police report, but their names were not released.

The two victims' blue vehicle then crashed into the back of another vehicle, pushing it into the car closest to the stoplight.

Jacob Melson said he was driving east on Hwy. 55, also known as Olson Hwy., about 1:15 a.m. when the white car came from behind and swerved around him at a high rate of speed. Melson said he was going 40 miles per hour, the speed limit.

"He was driving very, very fast and passed me driving erratically, so crazy fast," Melson said.

Melson said that in a minute or two he arrived at the crash scene, where the white car was near the center median and the badly smashed blue car lay on the right shoulder of the two eastbound lanes.

"People were yelling. They called 911. They pulled a man out of the white car," Melson said.

He said people then looked into the blue car, but didn't try to remove the two occupants until police and rescue workers arrived.

The white car's driver was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and was in stable condition, according to police.

Four occupants from the other two vehicles also were taken to HCMC for noncritical injuries.

At this point, authorities have not arrested anyone, but excessive speed is suspected as a factor, said police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington. She said it's not known if alcohol was involved.

Police did not say whether those involved were wearing seat belts.

The Minneapolis Police Traffic Investigations unit will do a crash reconstruction.

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office will release the names of the deceased victims.

jim.adams@startribune.com chris.havens@startribune.com