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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

Charges delayed in Minneapolis crash that left five people dead

Rally for Victims of High-speed crash
A vigil hangs near the Lake Street intersection where a speeding driver crashed into a vehicle on June 17 in Minneapolis killing five women.
Tim Evans for MPR News

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Prosecutors say they’ve received a 24-hour extension to file charges against a driver suspected of causing a crash that claimed the lives of five young women in Minneapolis last week.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office issued a statement Wednesday stating they are “waiting for additional evidence, including toxicology testing results of the suspect’s blood, as we continue to review the investigation into the criminally-reckless driving conduct.”

The office said it expects charges to be filed by noon on Thursday.

The suspect, a 27-year-old Brooklyn Park man, remains in custody in the Hennepin County Jail.

The crash happened Friday night along Lake Street, just off an exit ramp from northbound Interstate 35W. Authorities allege the suspect was driving at a high rate of speed on the freeway when he exited and drove through a red light, broadsiding a passing car.

All five people in that passing car died from their injuries.

The Dar al Farooq Center in Bloomington identified the victims as members of its community: Sabiriin Ali, 17, of Bloomington; Salma Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park; Sahra Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center; Sagal Hersi,19, of Minneapolis; and Siham Odhowa, 19, of Minneapolis.

The center’s director said they had been returning from a night of preparations for a wedding when the crash occurred.

“We lost five beautiful, five caring, five bright pearls who were assets to our community,” Khalid Omar told MPR News. “Some of them had plans of going to college this fall. And for some, you know, they are attending local universities, colleges in our city, so they had a very bright future.”

Thousands of people gathered for their funeral on Monday.

The man suspected of driving the vehicle that caused the crash was also hurt, and jailed Monday after being released from a hospital.

MPR News is not naming him because he has not yet been charged.

Correction (June 22, 2023): The age of one of the victims of the crash was incorrect in a previous version of this story.