The son of a controversial former Minnesota lawmaker was arrested in connection with a high-speed crash that killed five young women.
Derrick John Thompson, the 27-year-old son of former state Rep John Thompson, was taken into custody on Monday after being hospitalised in Minneapolis, according to FOX9.
Hennepin County prosecutors say they are reviewing the case before bringing any charges.
Investigators say that Thompson was in a car that allegedly ran a red light on Friday night, slamming into another car with the five women inside.
Police claim that the suspect got out of the car and fled on foot but was eventually caught and arrested.
The victims, who were all aged between 17 and 20 and preparing for a friend’s wedding the next day, have been named as Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi.
California court records show that in 2020, Thompson was sentenced to eight years in prison for a 2018 crash in Montecito that injured a woman. He was released from prison earlier this year.
“This is certainly a terrible heart wrenching story and our hearts go out to the families of the five young women who lost their lives,” a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office told Fox News Digital.
“Mr Thompson received 577 days credit (for the time he spent in custody pending disposition) at the time of sentencing.
“Based on the fact that he was sentenced to a violent felony statutorily the defendant would have been required to serve 85 per cent of his time, meaning he would have had close to 5.5 years left to serve from the time of sentencing.
“However, CA proposition 57 (passed in 2016) changed potential credits calculations and gave CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) wide latitude to award additional custody credits, as well as, early parole opportunities.”
Mr Thompson was also arrested and convicted for fleeing a police officer in 2017 after being found passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle.
No criminal complaint has yet been filed against the suspect because of the holiday weekend and he is expected to be charged on Tuesday, reported FOX9.
John Thompson was expelled from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party caucus in September 2021 after allegedly falsely accusing a police officer of racial profiling.
During the George Floyd protests in 2020, John Thompson and Black Lives Matter protesters marched on the home of police union leader Bob Kroll in Hugo, Minnesota.
He went on to win election to the state legislature in November 2020, before losing his seat in the November 2022 election.
