A motorist struck and killed a man on a road near a southern Minnesota airport, and told a driver who stopped that he thought he hit a deer, authorities said Sunday.

The crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday on County Road 2, north of the Mankato Regional Airport, according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office.

Killed was Travis L. Albright, 21, of Cleveland, Minn., the Sheriff's Office said.

According to the Sheriff's Office:

The driver, Jacob J. Gilbert, 30 of Medford, Minn., pulled over after "he struck what he thought was a deer in the roadway."

Another motorist stopped and told Gilbert that it was a person down in the road with severe injuries.

Albright was taken by ambulance to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, where he died.

Authorities have not disclosed why Albright was in the road.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482