The three people killed in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend in Maple Grove were identified as a woman and her two toddler children, police said Monday.

A front-seat passenger in the car, the woman's 23-year-old boyfriend, survived the injuries he suffered about 7 a.m. Saturday when they crashed near the intersection of Dunkirk and Lawndale lanes.

The driver, 25-year-old Kiara Jones of Minneapolis, was declared dead at the scene, police said. Her 2-year-old son, Joshua Kendrick, and 3-year-old daughter, Lily Kendrick, were taken to a nearby hospital and died there.

The boyfriend, Colin Stanifer-Brown of Minneapolis, was in satisfactory condition Monday afternoon at HCMC, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A preliminary investigation showed the car was traveling about 80 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone on northbound Dunkirk, according to the Maple Grove Police Department. The driver lost control and the vehicle crossed the median and struck a tree. Emergency responders found the vehicle, a 2006 Ford Focus, severed in two.

Minnesota State Patrol crash reconstruction specialists are assisting in the investigation.

Paul Walsh