02-06-2025
Derrick Thompson trial continues Monday with body camera video from scene of crash
Testimony continues Monday for the trial of Derrick Thompson, the son of a former lawmaker who is accused of crashing into and killing five young women in 2023.
Body camera footage exhibited during court Monday morning showed a Minnesota state trooper approaching the SUV Thompson was allegedly driving.
The video from state trooper Vincent Wren shows him approaching the passenger side door, then make his way around the back of the SUV to the driver's side.
Wren then described the Honda Civic, the car that the five women were in when Thompson allegedly slammed into them.
"So as I approached the vehicle — vehicles — I went up to the Civic first, and the Civic looked like if you had a pop can and you laid the pop can down on the ground and stomped on it, that's kind of what it looked like. You could make out the front and the back end, but the center portion of the vehicle was just, you couldn't recognize it. It didn't look much like a car at that point," Wren said on the witness stand.
Still from Vincent Wren's body camera video, shown during Derrick Thompson's trial.
Minnesota State Patrol
Minneapolis police officers, forensic staff and the sister of a girl who died in the crash testified on Friday.
"She was like everything, a mentor, built-in best friend. She was a very smart person," said Rukia Gesaade.
She said her sister Sahra Gesaade, 20, wanted to become a doctor one day.
Thompson is charged with five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide for the crash on June 16, 2023. Five friends including Gesaade were killed in the crash: Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sabiriin Ali, 17; Sagal Hersi, 19; and Siham Odhowa, 19.
The prosecution alleges Thompson drew the attention of trooper Andres Guerra on Interstate 35W by driving erratically and at dangerous speeds. During his testimony Guerra said he watched the SUV Thompson was allegedly driving weave in and out of traffic lanes.
Court documents say Thompson exited on East Lake Street, blew through a red light and smashed into the victims' vehicle.
Thompson's defense team argues that it wasn't him behind the wheel but instead say it was his brother, who has not been charged or arrested in connection to the case.
WCCO has a camera inside the courtroom and will break down the key moments. This story will be updated.
