MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man was sentenced to nearly 59 years Thursday for causing a crash that killed five young women who were out making preparations for a friend's wedding.
Derrick Thompson admitted his guilt for the first time and begged for forgiveness at an emotional sentencing hearing. He said he was sorry for what he did and “there is not a day I don’t ask God why he didn’t take me instead and let your beautiful angels still be here,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
But relatives and friends of the victims offered no forgiveness at the hearing. Instead, they attacked Thompson for waiting until his sentencing to admit his crimes and putting their families through two criminal trials.
A state court jury convicted the 29-year-old from the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide for the June 2023 crash that killed Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi. His defense claimed during the trial that Thompson was not the driver of an SUV that ran a red light and plowed into a Honda Civic.
The victims, between 17 and 20 years old, were on their way home from preparations for a friend’s wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outrage in Minnesota’s sizable Somali American community.
“I hope reality suffocates you for the rest of your life,“ said Sundus Odhowa, Siham Adam’s older sister. ”You should never know freedom again. You should never know peace.”
Authorities say Thompson was driving a rented Cadillac Escalade SUV at more than 100 mph (160 kph) down a freeway in Minneapolis before exiting, blowing through the red light and smashing into the sedan in which the young women were riding.
Minnesota inmates typically serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on supervised release. With credit for 767 days of time already served, Thompson could go free in about 37 years. Thompson, who already had a felony record, was convicted separately in November on federal drug and firearms charges. He's still awaiting sentencing on those counts.
Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
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