Derrick Thompson gets further prison time in 2023 crash that killed 4 young women

A Minnesota man convicted and sentenced in a 2023 high-speed crash that killed five young women will serve even more time in prison, a judge ruled this week.

Derrick Thompson, 29, was convicted in July of five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide for a crash that killed five young women.

The crash occurred on the night of June 16, 2023, on Interstate 35W in south Minneapolis. A state trooper testified they were following Thompson without emergency lights activated and saw him speed off onto East Lake Street, where he struck and instantly killed the five women, court documents show.

The victims were Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sabiriin Ali, 17; Sagal Hersi, 19; and Siham Odhowa, 19. The group of friends was preparing for a friend’s wedding at the time of the crash.

According to court documents, Thompson topped speeds of 100 mph while driving erratically. Police found a loaded handgun inside his rented vehicle, in addition to more than 2,000 fentanyl pills and other narcotics, according to the criminal complaint.

During his trial, Thompson’s defense argued his brother was actually behind the wheel. Damarco Thompson testified he wasn’t in the Cadillac during the crash, and was only briefly inside when his brother rented it about 30 minutes earlier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Also Wednesday, in federal court, Derrick Thompson was sentenced to 14 years in prison on additional fentanyl and firearm-related charges. Last July, Judge Carolina A. Lamas sentenced him to 58 years and eight months. Because some of the time will be served concurrently, he is expected to remain in prison for about 64 years total.

Derrick Thompson is the son of former Minnesota State Rep. John Thompson, who served one term representing St. Paul’s District 67A before losing reelection.