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Derrick Thompson trial continues Monday with body camera video from scene of crash

Minneapolis police officer testifies at Derrick Thompson trial
Minneapolis police officer testifies at Derrick Thompson trial 01:44

Testimony continued 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 Cadillac Escalade 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.

Jurors were also shown video of the moment police caught up with Thompson following the crash. 

vincent-wren-body-camera.jpg
Still from Vincent Wren's body camera video, shown during Derrick Thompson's trial. Minnesota State Patrol

One of the officers said that after they detained Thompson, protocol was to show him to a witness in front of bright squad car lights. That witness reported seeing him run from the crash and police say that's when they had enough information to arrest him. In that moment, Thompson still maintained his innocence.

"Please tell them it is not me," Thompson said in a body camera video from a Minneapolis police officer. "I'm 6'5'', it's not hard for me to be missed. My hair is not blonde. My hair is red. Please tell them that this is not me."

The father of 19-year-old Sagal Hersi, one of the victims, also testified in court on Monday. A picture of Hersi at her younger brother's high school graduation that was taken two weeks before the crash was shown during Burhan Warfaa's testimony. He was emotional on the stand, sharing, through an interpreter, his grief he's left with since the incident.

"I got a call from a niece, and she was crying when she called," Warfaa said. "And then she mentioned the names of the girls who died, and she mentioned Sagal, they all died, and she was crying, and I couldn't understand what she was saying, but she was in a lot of pain at that time. It is very hard for me. She was the best daughter any father could have."

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; Hersi; 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.

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