Minneapolis Man Charged with Fatally Striking Priest on Bike in Rosemount
A 26-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the death of a priest who was struck while riding his bicycle last October in Rosemount.
An arrest warrant for Trejean Derrell Curry was just issued on March 17, 2022, and he made his first court appearance Wednesday, with bail set at $200,000 without conditions. His next court date is April 14 in Hastings.
73-year-old Rev. Dennis Keith Dempsey, of Apple Valley, died shortly after being struck while riding a bicycle on the shoulder of County Road 42 in Rosemount around 3:20 p.m. Oct. 25, 2021.
Rosemount police responded to the area of County Road 42, west of Auburn Ave. and found Dempsey, unresponsive in the ditch on the north side of the road.
Curry was arrested after the crash when police found he was driving with a revoked license, but he was released from jail days later pending further investigation, which included a crash reconstruction by the Minnesota State Patrol.
According to investigators, at the scene of the crash, there was a sedan-style vehicle stopped partially in the traffic lane of westbound County Road 42. The windshield of the vehicle was smashed and officers found Curry in the driver’s seat.
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Curry was asked if he had his driver's license with him, to which he responded, “no,” and that he was driving in the right lane when the bicyclist swerved out in front of him.
Curry allegedly told an officer that “this isn't a bike lane" as he motioned to the shoulder of the road. He said he didn't know what the bicyclist was doing and then motioned that the bike was traveling from the north side of the shoulder towards the traffic lane. Curry said he couldn't move over because there was a car next to him, and that he couldn't slam on the brakes because there was a car behind him.
In the area of the crash, County Road 42 is four lanes, with two lanes traveling to the east and west, separated by a grassy median. The two westbound lanes are separated by a dashed white line and an asphalt shoulder is separated from the lanes of travel by a solid white line. The shoulder is about the same width as a normal lane of travel.
The State Patrol’s crash reconstruction determined that Curry and Dempsey were both traveling westbound on the north shoulder of County Road 42 at the time of the crash. There were two tire skid marks from the sedan prior to the point of impact, both to the right of the solid white line, commonly known as the fog line.
The tire marks, the Patrol said, were completely on the shoulder of the roadway, and travelled straight ahead until just before the point of impact, at which point they veered left towards the traffic lane.
Based on the bicycle tire scuff mark and indentation on the vehicle's front license plate, the tire of the bicycle made impact with the middle of the front license plate, documents said. The bicycle skid mark was located just to the left of the center of the shoulder.
The speed of Curry's vehicle was estimated to be between 54-63 mph prior to the crash, with the speed limit in that area marked at 55 mph.
A review of Curry's Minnesota driving record shows that at the time of the crash, his driver's license was revoked. After the crash, Curry’s phone was analyzed by investigators for potential evidence.
On his phone shortly after the crash, investigators noted that a music application was in use. A recent outgoing text message on the phone, allegedly sent by Curry read, “Just got in a accident biker got in the way,” documents said.
If convicted, Curry faces up to 10 years in prison. An analysis of Curry's blood did not detect any drugs or alcohol. His criminal history in Minnesota shows a slew of traffic-related offenses, including multiple convictions for driving with a revoked license.
Dempsey was a priest at the Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville.
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