MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A person who served a hit-and-run sentence in a California jail till his launch earlier this yr remained jailed Tuesday, awaiting expenses after a crash killed 5 younger ladies in Minneapolis when a dashing driver blew previous a state trooper, ran a crimson mild and slammed into their automobile.
Derrick John Thompson, 27, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, was evaluated at a hospital after which booked into the Hennepin County Jail on Monday within the aftermath of Friday’s crash. The victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — had been all between 17 and 20 years outdated.
Hundreds of mourners from the realm’s massive Somali American neighborhood attended the younger ladies’s funeral Monday on the Dar Al-Farooq mosque in Bloomington, the place the 5 had been lively members. They had been returning house from a Somali mall the place they’d henna utilized in preparation for a good friend’s wedding ceremony scheduled for the subsequent day when their automobile was struck.
Hennepin County Legal professional Mary Moriarty stated her workplace was reviewing the case and would make a charging choice quickly. Prosecutors have till midday Wednesday because of the vacation weekend.
“Our neighborhood is grieving the lack of the 5 vivid younger individuals whose lives had been reduce brief in a mindless, egocentric act of reckless driving,” Moriarity stated in a press release. “As an alternative of celebrating a joyous wedding ceremony, these households had been pressured to plan funerals and cope with the devastation of this tragedy.”
California court docket information present that Thompson was launched from a jail there earlier this yr after serving a part of an eight-year sentence for his conviction in a 2018 hit-and-run that severely injured a girl in Montecito, California. Minnesota court docket information additionally present he was convicted twice of fleeing police in his personal state. Jail information do not present whether or not he presently has an lawyer.
In Friday’s crash, a state trooper first noticed a dashing driver on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis round 10 p.m., police stated in a press release. The motive force exited the freeway earlier than the trooper might try a visitors cease and crashed into one other car with 4 ladies and a lady inside. All 5 died on the scene.
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Police stated the driving force ran from the scene. Officers searched the realm earlier than taking Thompson into custody. He was evaluated at a hospital after which booked into the jail Monday.
Minnesota court docket information present that Thompson is the son of former state Rep. John Thompson, of St. Paul, who was a pointy critic of police throughout his one time period in workplace. The elder Thompson grew to become a Black Lives Matter activist following the police killing of his good friend, Philando Castile, in suburban St. Paul in 2016. Minnesota Home Democrats expelled him from their caucus in 2021 after outdated allegations of home abuse resurfaced, following an acrimonous visitors cease in St. Paul through which he claimed he was racially profiled, and he misplaced his major election final yr. A working quantity for the daddy couldn’t instantly be discovered.
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Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Related Press/Report for America Statehouse Information Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on under-covered points. Comply with Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15