The tragedy on Lake Street: Mourning 'pearls of our community'

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Five young women were tragically and needlessly killed Friday night when a speeding driver ran a red light and struck their car on Lake Street in Minneapolis.

The five — Sabiriin Ali, 17, of Bloomington, a recent Edina High School graduate who planned to attend the University of Minnesota; Sahra Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center, a third-year student at the University of Minnesota's Rochester campus; Salma Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park, a second-year student at Normandale Community College; Sagal Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis, who studied at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and Siham Adam, 19, of Minneapolis, a University of Minnesota student — had recently left the Karmel Mall, where they had prepared for a friend's wedding on Saturday.

All of them "had bright futures," Khalid Omar, director of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, where they worshiped, told the Star Tribune. "These are pearls of our community."

The community at Dar Al-Farooq, to be sure, but also the broader community across the metro area and the state mourns the senseless loss that Omar said leaves "a big void."

That void will be intensely felt by the victims' extended circle of families and friends — which all the women themselves were part of, with three being cousins, one an extended family member and one a friend.

It's a variety of pain and loss shared all too often across the state by those whose loved ones are victims of trauma caused by what seems to be a rise in dangerous driving, including two separate lethal crashes on Sunday in greater Minnesota that killed four. "I talked to the [Minneapolis police] chief and said, 'Something has to be done,' " Sixth Ward City Council Member Jamal Osman told the Star Tribune. "We gotta make sure we're enforcing the traffic laws."

That reasonable appeal should be amplified by the loss of the five young women, and by reports that the motorist who struck their vehicle passed a state trooper at a speed estimated up to 95 mph northbound on Interstate 35W.

And especially because the reported driver of the car — 27-year-old Derrick John Thompson of Brooklyn Park, son of John Thompson, a former DFL state representative from St. Paul, whose controversial, contentious presence in the Legislature ended after one term when he lost his primary in 2022 — had an extensive record of reckless driving.

The younger Thompson was injured in the crash and reportedly fled to a local Taco Bell before bystanders called police. He was hospitalized, was tested for drugs and alcohol, and may face charges as early as Tuesday. Thompson reportedly has several driving-related offenses in Minnesota, including multiple instances of driving with a revoked or suspended license. And in February 2020 he was sentenced in a California hit-and-run case that left a pedestrian seriously injured. More than 17 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 in cash were found in Thompson's car in that incident, and he was eventually sentenced to an eight-year prison term but qualified for early release.

Despite this background, Thompson's license was reinstated last March in Minnesota, which should raise questions on the justification for such a decision. Questions have also already been raised about the callous disregard for the victims' families by an unauthorized release of Metro Transit footage of Friday's lethal crash that has already been viewed online over half a million times.

As usual, however, Minnesotans' better angels also are on display, as an online fundraiser had already raised more than $350,000 by Monday afternoon.

The inquiries about Thompson, his license reinstatement, the release of the video and other issues are important. But they shouldn't eclipse the focus on the five young women whose funerals took place on Monday. Along with their friends, families, faith community, the state and people of goodwill everywhere, we grieve the profound loss of these promising souls.