MINNEAPOLIS — Five young women had just left Karmel Mall after getting henna applied for a friend's wedding when they were struck and killed Friday night in south Minneapolis by a speeding motorist who authorities say ran a red light on Lake Street.
Community leaders identified the victims as Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam. Three of the women are cousins, one is an extended relative and another is a friend.
Sabiriin, 17, had just graduated from Edina High School and was planning to attend the University of Minnesota, where she aspired to study medicine. Gesaade, 20, was a third-year student at the UM's Rochester campus; Abdikadir, 20, was a sophomore at Normandale Community College; Adam, 19, attended UM; and Hersi, 19, attended MCTC.
"These are pearls of our community. They leave a big void," said Khalid Omar, director of Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, where the girls attended services and volunteered for many years. "All of five of them had bright futures."
Sabiriin and her mother acted as diligent caretakers of the mosque, Omar said. Abdikadir also volunteered there, teaching young children how to read and write Arabic as part of their Islamic studies.
On Friday, the young women were doing some last minute shopping at the mall and getting henna applied ahead of a close friend's wedding Saturday night before heading home.
"They weren't doing anything wrong," Omar said, "they were just getting ready for their friend's wedding."
As they drove down Lake Street, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper saw an SUV speeding north on Interstate 35W, near the 46th Street exit in south Minneapolis, just after 10 p.m. The vehicle blew past the trooper at more than 40 mph above the posted speed limit of 55 mph, said Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman Howie Padilla.
The SUV exited the highway before the trooper could try to pull it over, he said. The driver then ran a red light at Lake Street and S. 2nd Avenue, broadsiding the car carrying the young women.
All five were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
"The whole community is mourning this loss," said Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman, whose Sixth Ward is home to the Twin Cities' largest East African community. "It's heartbreaking. These girls had a lot of life ahead of them. "
They are expected to be buried at the Garden of Eden Islamic Cemetery in Burnsville on Sunday afternoon, he said.
An online fundraiser for the victims' families has raised more than $175,000 as of Saturday evening. Osman thanked the community for their outpouring of love and support in hours following the tragedy.
Osman first learned of the crash from Third Precinct Inspector Jose Gomez, who sent him a late-night text message. A briefing by Homicide Lt. Richard Zimmerman later informed him that the suspect was driving so fast when he struck the driver's side of the women's vehicle that it was dragged for more than 50 feet.
The male suspect, who was also injured during the impact, fled on foot to a nearby Taco Bell. Bystanders called police, who arrested the driver late Friday.
The 27-year-old Brooklyn Park man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for evaluation, where doctors performed a blood draw to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, MPD Public Information Officer Adam Kennedy said.
The driver is expected to be booked into the Hennepin County jail sometime Saturday night.
"I hope they try everything they can to bring justice to this family and this community," said Osman, who condemned the uptick in reckless driving that puts citizens' lives at risk. "I talked to the chief and said, 'Something has to be done. We gotta make sure we're enforcing the traffic laws.'"
