Driver Plows into Pedestrians, Kills Teen Girl & Injures 5 in Minneapolis
Minneapolis police say a 16-year-old girl is dead and five others are injured after a hit-and-run crash early Saturday morning.
Officers were dispatched at approximately 12:23 a.m. to the area of 5th Street North and Hennepin Avenue on a report of a driver who struck several pedestrians.
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According to police, an altercation between a group of people was taking place in the middle of 5th Street North when an adult female suspect got into a vehicle and drove in reverse on Hennepin Avenue. She then drove the wrong way on 5th Street North and into the crowd, striking multiple people.
Six victims were transported to Hennepin Healthcare hospital:
A 16-year-old girl died from her injuries at the hospital.
Two 14-year-old girls had apparent non-life-threatening injuries.
A 24-year-old man had apparent non-life-threatening injuries.
A 28-year-old man had apparent non-life-threatening injuries.
A 29-year-old woman had potentially life-threatening-injuries.
Police say the suspect driver fled the scene but witnesses followed the vehicle and provided its location to officers. Minneapolis police, along with deputies from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Minnesota State Patrol, stopped the suspect on the 2300 block of Bryant Avenue North.
The suspect, Latalia Anjolie Margalli, 22, was taken into custody and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of murder. Formal charges have not yet been filed as of late Saturday.
MPD’s Traffic Unit and forensic scientists processed the scene, and the investigation is ongoing as authorities work to determine the sequence of events leading up to the crash.
“There aren't words to describe how tragic and senseless it is to lose a 16-year-old female over something like this,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said. “There were at least a dozen people in the immediate path of the vehicle as the suspect drove through the crowd. We are thankful because it's clear we could have had more fatalities, and more people injured. We will continue to investigate this incident, as senseless as it is, and try and determine what the motive for this could possibly be.”
Family members Saturday identified the 16-year-old victim as De’Miaya Broome.
The fatal Minneapolis crash comes just weeks after two people were killed and several others injured when a man plowed into a restaurant patio in St. Louis Park. He has since been charged with murder.
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