Derrick Thompson (KARE/YouTube).
Jurors in the trial of a Minnesota driver who slammed into a car killing five young women while speeding from cops were unsure of the defendant’s guilt until prosecutors brought in a surprise witness: his brother.
Derrick Thompson faced five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of vehicular homicide in the deadly 2023 crash. Thompson had just rented a Cadillac Escalade in the Minneapolis area and immediately began speeding up to 95 mph as he weaved in and out of traffic. After exiting the highway, Derrick John Thompson whizzed past a red light and slammed into a Honda Civic, crushing the car and instantly killing the women.
But Thompson’s defense lawyers argued it was their client’s brother Damarco Thompson who was driving the Escalade, as his car keys and hat were inside. Prosecutors reportedly issued a surprise subpoena late in the trial compelling the brother to testify. On the stand, he told jurors he was not in the Escalade with his brother, rather had driven him to the rental car facility so Derrick Thompson could pick up the vehicle and followed behind him in his Dodge Challenger until he started speeding away, according to a courtroom report from the Sahan Journal.
Damarco Thompson’s testimony was key to getting his brother convicted, juror Lucas Sundelius told local NBC affiliate KARE after the verdict.
“A lot of the questions [he answered] helped clear up the fact that they had multiple sets of keys for the Challenger,” Sundelius said. “Having him testify was extremely helpful.”
Another key aspect of the testimony was seeing the height difference between the brothers, according to Sundelius. The defendant was much taller than his brother and jurors noted the driver’s seat in the Escalade was pulled back.
“When we saw that we were like ‘OK we think it’s him rather than his brother,”” Sundelius told the TV station.
As a result, the jury convicted Derrick Thompson on all 15 counts in the deaths of Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, Sahra Liban Gesaade, Sagal Burhaan Hersi, Siham Adan Odhowa, and Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali. The victims were between 17 and 20 years old.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the crash was “entirely preventable.”
“This was a heartbreaking tragedy that took the lives of five women who had their whole lives ahead of them,” she said in a statement. “In an instant, they were ripped from their loved ones because of Mr. Thompson’s reckless and dangerous actions. His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community. Mr. Thompson is being held accountable, and we will do everything we can to ensure that he can never do this again.”
Thompson is slated to be sentenced on July 24.
As Law&Crime previously reported, a probable cause arrest affidavit said a Minnesota State Police trooper just after 10 p.m. on June 16, 2023, saw the Escalade flying down I-35W at 95 mph in a 55 mph zone and cutting across four lanes of traffic.
Derrick Thompson allegedly took an exit ramp, ran a red light and T-boned the Civic traveling through the intersection. Cops say the Civic ended up pinned against the wall of the I-35W bridge. A trooper, who never had a chance to activate his cruiser lights, observed the crash from about 800 feet away.
“The trooper immediately went to the black Honda Civic. The trooper observed that the black Honda Civic had extensive damage and all five victims in the Honda Civic had no signs of life and were deceased,” the affidavit said.
Thompson allegedly limped away from the crash scene and sat down in a nearby Taco Bell parking lot. Cops tracked him and found him suffering from a gash on his forehead. He reportedly claimed the head wound was “an old cut” and said he “fell” earlier in the night. Witnesses, however, identified him as the driver.
Troopers later learned he had rented the SUV less than a half hour before crashing it, the affidavit said.
Cops say Thompson had THC in his system. He also allegedly had a Glock with an extended magazine, 2,000 pills of suspected fentanyl, 13 pills of suspected MDMA and 35.6 grams of cocaine in the Escalade.
Per the affidavit, Thompson admitted to being the driver of the SUV during the crash in a phone call he made while in custody, claiming he was trying to avoid another vehicle “on his bumper” at the time of the crash. Video showed there was no car behind him.
“The senseless deaths of these five young women at the hands of Mr. Thompson has devastated their families and communities,” Moriarty said when she filed the murder charges last year. “The sad fact is that he has done this before.”
Thompson was reportedly released from prison in California about six months before the crash. In that incident, Thompson was fleeing from cops in a rented vehicle when he crashed into a pedestrian, pinning her against a concrete retaining wall. The pedestrian was “severely injured and hospitalized.” A search of the rental turned up 18 pounds of marijuana and about $20,000 in cash.
“His lengthy record of dangerous driving, the trail of devastation he’s left in his wake, and his conduct in this case make these more serious charges appropriate. We will continue to seek a lengthy period of incarceration to keep the community safe,” Moriarty said.
Thompson is the son of former state Rep. John Thompson, a Democrat, who served in the legislature from 2021 to 2023. He was expelled from his caucus in September 2021 after reports surfaced that he was violent toward women, the Pioneer Press reported. He was defeated by a fellow Democrat in the 2022 primary election.
