Derrick Thompson’s brother says he never drove SUV linked to crash that killed 5
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By Katrina Pross, Sahan Journal
This story comes to you from Sahan Journal through a partnership with MPR News.
The brother of Derrick Thompson testified in court Wednesday that he was not in the vehicle when it struck and killed five young women in Minneapolis in 2023.
Prosecutors had not previously indicated that they intended to call Damarco Thompson to testify. In a last-minute move, Hennepin County District Court Judge Carolina Lamas signed an order compelling him to take the stand.
Derrick Thompson is charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and five counts of third-degree murder. Prosecutors say he was driving a rented Cadillac Escalade about 100 miles an hour when he ran a red light, T-boning a Honda Civic, which carried the five women.
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Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sagal Hersi, 19; Siham Odhowa, 19; and Sabiriin Ali, 17, were all killed in the crash, which occured on June 16, 2023.
“At any point did you drive the Escalade that night?” Assistant Hennepin County Attorney James Hanneman asked Damarco Thompson on the witness stand.
“No,” Damarco Thompson replied.
Thompson’s brother subpoenaed to testify
State prosecutors did not list Damarco Thompson on their witness list that was filed before the trial began, but told Lamas in court Wednesday that they subpoenaed him to testify at the trial. Derrick Thompson’s defense has said that it was Damarco Thompson who was driving the Cadillac Escalade during the crash.
Derrick Thompson has already been convicted of federal charges relating to having drugs and a gun with him during the crash.
Lamas said it was in the public interest for Damarco Thompson to testify, and signed an order compelling him to take the stand. Because he was compelled to testify, Thompson’s testimony occurred under immunity, meaning he couldn’t be charged for anything he said in the courtroom. He could still face charges related to the incident if there is evidence he committed a crime. The testimony in court Wednesday would only focus on who was driving the Escalade. Damarco Thompson took the witness stand, and said that he went with his brother to the airport the day of the crash so Derrick Thompson could rent a car.
He said they departed the airport, with Derrick Thompson driving the Escalade, and Damarco Thompson following him, driving a Dodge Challenger. Damarco Thompson said they then met in a nearby park, where Derrick Thomspon took some of his belongings from the Challenger.
Damarco Thompson said he gave Derrick Thomspon his blue hat. Derrick Thompson’s attorney Tyler Bliss had pointed to the hat throughout the trial, which was found in the passenger side of the Escalade after the crash.
“And he took that with him into the Escalade?” Hanneman asked.
“Yes,” Damarco Thompson replied. He said his brother then left, driving the Escalade. Damarco Thompson said he sat in the park for a while before leaving.
“As he drove off in the Escalade, was anyone else in the Escalade with him?” Hanneman asked.
“No,” Damarco Thompson replied.
Hanneman asked Damarco Thompson where he went after he sat in the park.
“I went home,” he testified.
Joshua London, an attorney representing Derrick Thompson, then cross-examined Damarco Thompson on the witness stand. He asked Damarco Thompson about a pair of keys that were found in the Escalade after the crash. Damarco Thompson told Hanneman that they were spare keys to the Challenger.
“You were in the car when the accident happened right? That’s why your hat and your keys were inside?” London asked.
“No,” Damarco Thompson replied.
Police sergeant testifies Derrick Thompson was driving the Escalade
Minneapolis Police Sgt. David Ligneel, one of the lead investigators on the case, continued his testimony Wednesday morning.
Under cross-examination, Bliss asked Ligneel why he didn’t request that some items found in the Escalade be tested, such as the blue hat.
Ligneel said he didn’t think it was necessary, and that all the evidence pointed to Derrick Thompson as the driver. He said video footage of the crash doesn’t show multiple doors being opened. He said it was possible that Damarco Thompson was a passenger in the vehicle briefly at one point and was then dropped off before the crash.
“You just thought it was a wholly irrelevant issue if there was a second person in this car?” Bliss asked.
“I believe Derrick Thompson was the driver in this vehicle,” Ligneel said.
Victim’s sister testifies
Sundus Ali, the older sister of Sabiriin Ali, 17, also testified Wednesday. Sundus testified as part of “spark of life” testimony, which allows jurors to hear more about the victims in a case.
Sundus, 22, was at Karmel Mall in south Minneapolis with her sister and the other young women the night of the crash. Sundus left in her own car to go to a friend’s house, and her sister went with the others in Sahra Gesaade’s car.
“Is that a fact that’s haunted you?” Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Paige Starkey asked.
“Yeah,” Sundus replied.
Sundus went to the scene of the crash with her mother. On the way there, she said she called 911. The dispatcher told her that police were already at the scene, and they would talk with her when she arrived.
“Nothing felt real anymore,” she said. “At that point, you can’t do anything but think the worst.”
When Sundus got to the scene, she spoke with an officer near a line of yellow police tape.
“Did that officer confirm that the worst had happened?” Starkey asked.
“Yeah.” Sundus replied.
“That everybody was gone?” Starkey said.
“Yeah,” Sundus replied
Sundus said her sister had graduated high school about two weeks before the crash. She planned to attend Augsburg University and wanted to become a physician’s assistant. Sundus said her sister was wise for her years.
“She didn’t get to be an adult, but she definitely acted like one,” Sundus said. “She was taken from us, so she doesnt get to live that life. She doesn’t get to live out her future plans, her dreams.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to further explain the immunity details of Damarco Thompson’s testimony.
