Families of 5 killed in Minneapolis crash call for independent investigation

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter and family members of five young women killed in a crash last week in Minneapolis are calling for an independent investigation.

Derrick Thompson, the son of a former state representative who represented St. Paul, was charged last week with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide.

Jaylani Hussein, CAIR-MN executive director, said he’s heard conflicting information about what happened before the crash at Lake Street and Second Avenue, primarily “whether it was a chase or not a chase” by law enforcement before the crash.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Thompson by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, law enforcement was not pursuing him. It said a Minnesota State Patrol trooper clocked Thompson driving a Cadillac sport-utility vehicle at 95 mph in a 55-mph zone about 10:10 p.m. on June 16.

Before the trooper could catch up or turn on the squad’s emergency lights or sirens, the driver “abruptly cut across all four lanes of traffic” and exited at Lake Street, the criminal complaint said. The driver sped down the exit ramp and through the intersection without stopping or slowing for the red light. A Honda Civic with the five young women inside had a green light and was traveling west on Lake Street.

The Cadillac “collided violently” with the Honda at Lake Street and Second Avenue, and the five people inside were pronounced dead at the scene, the complaint said. They were Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park; Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, of Bloomington; Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center; Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis; and Siham Adan Odhowa, 19, of Minneapolis.

Hussein on Monday called for Gov. Tim Walz to initiate an independent investigation. A spokesperson for Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Family members of the young women — who Hussein called “five beautiful young stars that we’ve lost” — shared their remembrances Monday.

Separate from the Hennepin County charges, the 27-year-old Thompson was charged last week in U.S. District Court with possession of fentanyl and a firearm, both of which were found in the vehicle after the collision.

Thompson’s father, John Thompson, represented St. Paul’s East Side for one term beginning in 2021.

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