MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A person who served a hit-and-run sentence in a California jail till his launch earlier this 12 months remained jailed Tuesday, awaiting prices after a crash killed 5 younger girls in Minneapolis when a dashing driver blew previous a state trooper, ran a pink 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— Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — have been all between 17 and 20 years outdated.
Hundreds of mourners from the realm’s massive Somali American neighborhood attended the younger girls’s funeral Monday on the Dar Al-Farooq mosque in Bloomington, the place the 5 had been lively members. They have been returning residence from a Somali mall the place that they had henna utilized in preparation for a buddy’s wedding ceremony scheduled for the subsequent day when their automobile was struck.
Hennepin County Legal professional Mary Moriarty mentioned her workplace was reviewing the case and would make a charging determination quickly. Prosecutors have till midday Wednesday as a result of vacation weekend.
“Our neighborhood is grieving the lack of the 5 brilliant younger individuals whose lives have been reduce brief in a mindless, egocentric act of reckless driving,” Moriarity mentioned in an announcement. “As a substitute of celebrating a joyous wedding ceremony, these households have been pressured to plan funerals and take care of the devastation of this tragedy.”
California courtroom data present that Thompson was launched from a jail there earlier this 12 months 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 courtroom data additionally present he was convicted twice of fleeing police in his personal state. Jail data do not present whether or not he presently has an legal professional.
In Friday’s crash, a state trooper first noticed a dashing driver on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis round 10 p.m., police mentioned in an announcement. The motive force exited the freeway earlier than the trooper might try a site visitors cease and crashed into one other car with 4 girls and a woman inside. All 5 died on the scene.
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Police mentioned the motive 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 courtroom data 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 turned a Black Lives Matter activist following the police killing of his buddy, 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 site visitors cease in St. Paul wherein he claimed he was racially profiled, and he misplaced his main election final 12 months. 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. Observe Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15