As Derrick Thompson stands trial on gun and drug charges, jurors watch video of a crash that killed five people

According to court documents, blood from one of the women was later found on the Escalade’s airbag.

Witnesses reported that Thompson fled the scene on foot, noticeably limping. He was arrested, sweaty and bleeding, in the parking lot of a nearby Taco Bell after a witness confirmed that Thompson was the man she saw fleeing the crash site. Body camera footage played for jurors Tuesday showed Thompson initially claiming the visible blood on his body was from an old injury before later claiming he tripped over a log in the parking lot.

Police found a Hertz rental certificate for the Escalade that was in Thompson’s name on the floor near the passenger door. Records showed that Thompson drove the vehicle to a Hertz vehicle in Minneapolis-St. about half an hour before the crash. had rented. Paul International Airport. Video from the store showed Thompson and his brother arriving, Thompson renting the Escalade and the two men leaving in separate vehicles.

According to court documents, Thompson was diagnosed with a hip fracture and refused surgery before being taken to prison. While he was in the hospital, he allegedly expressed remorse about the accident to a nurse who was treating him and made it clear to her that he had been driving, according to a trial brief filed by the government. However, Thompson denied that he was trying to escape from police at the time of the accident.

Pretrial filings also referenced HCMC medical records that included a “Spiritual Care Note” that described “damaging statements” Thompson made to a hospital chaplain about the accident. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Shnider wrote that the government does not plan to produce the statements unless Thompson testifies in court and contradicts them.

Hennepin District Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office added new murder charges last month, shortly after a prosecutor in her office announced that Thompson had been offered a deal to plead guilty to five of 10 counts of criminal homicide by vehicle while caused the accident and fled the scene. The terms of the plea deal called for Thompson to serve between 32 and 38 years in prison. In return, the county would drop the other five charges of involuntary manslaughter with gross or negligent operation of a motor vehicle.