This story comes to you from Sahan Journal through a partnership with MPR News.

The brother of Derrick Thompson testified in court Wednesday that he was not in the vehicle when it struck and killed five young women in Minneapolis in 2023.

Prosecutors had not previously indicated that they intended to call Damarco Thompson to testify. In a last-minute move, Hennepin County District Court Judge Carolina Lamas signed an order compelling him to take the stand.

Derrick Thompson is charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and five counts of third-degree murder. Prosecutors say he was driving a rented Cadillac Escalade about 100 miles an hour when he ran a red light, T-boning a Honda Civic, which carried the five women.

Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sagal Hersi, 19; Sih

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