A 27-year-old St. Louis Park man is dead after the vehicle he was driving hit a tree, overturned, and caught on fire early Friday in Cottage Grove.
Police officers and firefighters called to the crash shortly after 1 a.m. found the car fully engulfed in flames in the 8400 block of East Point Douglas Road, according to a Cottage Grove police Facebook post.
Once the fire was put out, firefighters found the driver dead inside the overturned vehicle. A passenger, a 33-year-old Cottage Grove man, was found outside the vehicle. He was taken to Woodwinds Hospital in Cottage Grove with non-life-threatening injuries.
The cause of the crash is under investigation but the preliminary investigation reveals the vehicle was heading southbound on East Point Douglas Road when it missed a curve and hit a tree. Authorities believe both speed and alcohol played a part in the crash.
The driver’s name will be released after his family is notified.