Driver accused of plowing into downtown Minneapolis crowd, killing teen had suspended license

The driver accused of targeting several people in downtown Minneapolis with her SUV, killing one person and injuring others, was behind the wheel despite a suspended license, state officials said Monday.

Authorities identified the person killed as De’Miaya Broome, 16. She was struck by the full-size SUV early Saturday morning at Hennepin Avenue and N. 5th Street.

Police arrested the driver, 22-year-old Latalia Anjolie Margalli of Minneapolis, soon afterward in north Minneapolis. Margalli remains jailed on suspicion of murder. Charges could be filed as soon as Tuesday.

Margalli was driving at the time with a license that has been suspended since Sept. 29 in connection with an unpaid traffic ticket in Iowa, the state Department of Public Safety said.

Margalli’s criminal history in Minnesota dates to a juvenile case in 2020 when she admitted to fifth-degree assault against a sister. In January 2021, Margalli was charged and convicted for first-degree assault, also against a sister. Margalli punched her in the head and stomped on her until she lost consciousness.

Margalli also has a history of convictions for traffic offenses in Minnesota, including several counts of driving on a revoked, suspended or nonvalid license, as well as driving violations in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Police said the incident began after a fight involving Margalli and others around midnight in the middle of the intersection. She got into an SUV shortly after 12:20 a.m. Saturday, drove in reverse along Hennepin, then the wrong way on 5th and into the crowd of people, according to police.

Bystander video posted on social media shows the SUV’s driver pause before rolling through the crowd, running over some and driving away as screams echoed down Hennepin. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a Saturday news conference there was “no question” Margalli meant to use her vehicle as a weapon.

Broome was taken to HCMC in downtown Minneapolis, where she died.

Family and friends of Broome gathered by the dozens Sunday evening at her father’s home in Fridley and drove in a caravan to the intersection where she was killed for a memorial balloon release. Hugs, tears and wails of grief dominated the downtown scene, where a portrait of the teenager was surrounded by candles and bouquets.

“Fly high, little baby,” one young man said as balloons of many colors soared skyward. “Soul fly.”

A close friend of the teen’s family wrote on an online fundraising effort toward covering funeral expenses that Broome “was a normal teenage girl. She loved helping her family and friends, and had a great love and care for animals. She came from a very large and loving family.”

The others injured also were taken to the hospital. Police Sgt. Garrett Parten said one of them — a 29-year-old woman — suffered life-threatening injuries. Two 14-year-old girls and two men, ages 24 and 28, were treated for minor injuries.

The fact so many teenagers were involved had O’Hara openly wondering why parents allow children that young to be in downtown Minneapolis so late on a Saturday night.

“I’m not their parent,” O’Hara said during his media briefing. “I can tell you my kid isn’t going to be hanging out on Hennepin Avenue at 12:30 at night in the middle of all the stuff going on here with bars.”

O’Hara said his department has a “very robust” late-night safety plan for downtown Minneapolis with dozens of extra officers focused on the Hennepin Avenue area. It’s a space where “hundreds, if not thousands” of people tend to hop from bar to bar, and police are especially keen on helping at 2 a.m. when the bars let out and violent confrontations can pop up.

Kyeland Jackson contributed to this story.