MINNEAPOLIS — The man connected to a high-speed crash that killed five young women last weekend is now charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the case.
A criminal complaint was filed in Hennepin County Court Thursday officially charging 27-year-old Derrick John Thompson for his role in the collision that claimed the lives of Siham Adan Odhowa, 19, Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, and Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20.
Prosecutors say Thompson was in a rented Cadillac SUV the night of Friday, June 16 when he was clocked by a state trooper driving 95 mph and weaving in and out of traffic. Before the trooper could pull him over, the complaint says, Thompson veered across four lanes of traffic and exited onto Lake Street at a high rate of speed. At that point, witnesses say Thompson blew threw a red light at speeds up to 100 mph and struck a black Honda with five people inside.
All those inside the Honda were instantly killed in the violent crash. Witnesses directed law enforcement to a nearby Taco Bell where Thompson was located and arrested. He was limping and bleeding from a laceration on his head, a wound Thompson claimed was caused by a fall earlier in the evening.
The witnesses positively identified him as the person who was driving the Cadillac SUV.
Officers who searched the vehicle located and seized a loaded Glock 40 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, over 2,000 individual pills which field-tested positive for fentanyl, and approximately 35.6 grams of white powder that tested positive for cocaine, according to the HCAO.
Prosecutors are still awaiting results on Thompson's blood toxicology and DNA that was sampled from his vehicle.
Five of the charges are for criminal vehicular homicide - operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner, and the other five are for criminal vehicular homicide - driver who causes a collision and leaves the scene. Each count carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
"The deaths of these five young women is devastating for their loved ones and has shaken our community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a released statement. “We value each of these young women’s lives and plan to seek a separate sentence for each life lost. I firmly believe in the potential for redemption and second chances, but Mr. Thompson has repeatedly engaged in extraordinarily dangerous criminal driving conduct related to apparent large-scale drug dealing. He has caused immeasurable pain and suffering in multiple states and we will seek a significant sentence that appropriately reflects the devastation he has caused and ensures a lengthy period of incapacitation.”
Derrick Thompson is scheduled to make his first appearance in Hennepin County District Court Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Moments after state charges were filed, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thompson has also been charged in federal court in connection with a gun and narcotics found in his rented vehicle. As a convicted felon, Thompson is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. If convicted, the defendant faces an additional 10 years in prison.
Thompson had been granted a Minnesota driver's license just nine days before he fled a state trooper and sped into Minneapolis, hitting the vehicle carrying the five victims at the corner of Lake St. and Second Ave. at speeds estimated at up to 100 mph.
"Their sudden and tragic deaths at the hands of this reckless driver deprived these beautiful souls of everything that life has to offer," Rep. Ilham Omar said of the young victims in a statement Thursday. "I knew many of these girls since they were children, and joined the community for their memorial service this weekend."
Thompson was granted driving privileges by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety despite a 2020 conviction in California for a hit-and-run that permanently disabled a woman. Thompson was sentenced to 8 years in prison but served only 3 before being released in January of 2023.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney said Thompson's driving privileges were revoked in California for that conviction, but MN DPS officials say a computer database showed his privileges were valid in all states.
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