MINNEAPOLIS – Newly released footage shows police frantically searching for the driver, moments after a Five best friends were killed in a tragic accident getting ready for a wedding.
It’s just some of the evidence that led to the federal conviction of the son of a former DFL lawmaker, Derrick Thompson.
Thompson was found guilty of one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of possession of a firearm as a felon and one count of carrying a firearm during and in connection with a drug trafficking crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota .
Thompson also faces state charges vehicular homicide and third-degree murder.
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Some of the same evidence will be shown again at that trial in two months.
Investigators say airport surveillance footage shows Thompson renting the SUV less than half an hour before the crash. From another angle you see him driving away in the rented Cadillac.
Then an officer says he clocked Thompson driving nearly 100 miles per hour before exiting at Lake Street, blinding the girls and killing them all.
Thompson was arrested nearby while sitting on the sidewalk of a fast food restaurant.
Prosecutors offered Thompson a plea deal in his state case in August, but he rejected it and opted to stand trial instead.
The jury trial is scheduled to begin in February but could be postponed as both sides litigate over what evidence should be presented.
Thompson’s attorney declined to comment.
