Two people were killed in a single-vehicle crash Sunday evening on a freeway off ramp near downtown Minneapolis, and speeding contributed to their deaths, the State Patrol said.

Antwanika Quatanae Myles, 22, of Anoka, was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer that left the ramp from eastbound Interstate 94 leading to 4th and 7th streets near downtown Minneapolis. The vehicle then went into the median and slammed into a bridge abutment about 9:30 p.m., the patrol said.

Myles was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the vehicle, Tyrone Derese Watkins, 20, of Anoka, also died at the scene.

A third person in the vehicle, Tiffany Gordon, 39, of Minneapolis, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with noncritical injuries, the patrol said.

Myles and Gordon were wearing seat belts, but Watkins was not, said Lt. Gordon Shank.

"The message is slow down and buckle up," Shank said.

Unofficial state numbers show that 347 people have died on state roads this year.

Tim Harlow