The Minnesota State Patrol said Monday that it has found the vehicle that was involved in a suspected hit-and-run crash late last week that killed an 8-year-old girl in Brooklyn Center and is in contact with the driver's attorney.

The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. Thursday along southbound Hwy. 252 near N. 66th Avenue, according to the patrol.

The girl was identified by the patrol as Iliana Tasso. The patrol said she was out by herself when she was hit. Brooklyn Center police said she lived near the crash scene.

In a statement Monday morning on Facebook, the patrol said it has located the vehicle "and possible driver. ... The individual is cooperating with investigators."

The patrol identified him as Harold John Hedlund, 77, of Ramsey.

Patrol Sgt. Troy Christianson later told the Star Tribune that his agency "received a call from an attorney representing the driver about the crash."

Christianson otherwise offered no further information about how the crash came about.

The girl's mother, Aisha Apoudjak, said Friday that she fell asleep shortly before her daughter "just vanished" from the family's apartment, located a little more than a block from where the girl was hit.

"She always likes to go out," Apoudjak said of her mildly autistic daughter.

The patrol described the vehicle as a white Nissan Rogue, model year 2015 to 2020, that likely has front right-side damage.

Asked where in the road the girl was when she was struck, Christianson said, "I am not sure if it was a crosswalk or not."