Sabiriin Ali,Salma Abdikadir Obituary, Death; – A man has been charged with murder following an incident in which he allegedly sped off a highway and collided with another vehicle in Minneapolis, resulting in the deaths of five young women, according to prosecutors.
Derrick Thompson was initially charged with ten counts of criminal vehicular homicide in June 2023. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that he will now face an additional five counts of third-degree murder alongside the original charges.
County Attorney Mary Moriarty stated that Thompson’s “extensive history of reckless driving, the destruction he has caused, and his actions in this incident” justified the new charges.
The tragic accident took place on June 16 at the intersection of Lake Street and Second Avenue, just off Interstate 35W. A criminal complaint reveals that a state trooper observed a driver “recklessly weaving through traffic” at a speed of 95 mph in a 55 mph zone. Before the trooper could pull the driver over, he swerved across the highway, exited onto Lake Street, ran a red light, and crashed into another vehicle.
The collision resulted in the deaths of five individuals: Sabiriin Ali, 17; Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sagal Hersi, 19; and Siham Adam, 19. The driver, later identified as Thompson, was apprehended nearby and subsequently hospitalized.
In August, the attorney’s office revealed that a plea deal had been offered to Thompson, which would require him to plead guilty to five counts of criminal vehicular homicide in exchange for the dismissal of five other charges. Prosecutors indicated that this deal, which will be rescinded at the next court appearance on November 4, could result in a sentence ranging from 32 to 38 years.
Five of the homicide charges pertain to the grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle, while the other five involve leaving the scene of the accident. The plea agreement would eliminate the former charges.
Following the incident, police discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, over 2,000 fentanyl pills, 13 MDMA pills, and approximately 35 grams of cocaine in Thompson’s vehicle.
