Authorities ID man who died in predawn crash in south Minneapolis

Authorities on Monday identified the driver who was killed in a crash Friday in south Minneapolis.

Mesa B.O. Strand, 33, of Minneapolis, was the motorist who went off the road in his passenger vehicle before dawn Friday and hit a tree near E. 45th Street and S. Cedar Avenue, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.

Strand was taken to HCMC and died there less than an hour later, the examiner's office said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that speeding and drug use may have been factors contributing to the crash, police said.