Five friends, all under the age of 21, were killed in a car crash Friday after a driver ran a red light and slammed into their vehicle in Minneapolis, authorities said.
Moments before the crash, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper saw the speeding driver on Interstate 35, but the driver exited the highway before the trooper could issue a traffic stop.
“The vehicle then proceeded through a red light at the intersection of [Lake Street and 2nd Avenue] and crashed into another vehicle occupied by four adult females and one juvenile female,” the Minneapolis Police Department said in a news release sent to USA TODAY.
Minneapolis police, who responded to the crash at about 10:12 p.m. local time, said an adult male exited the vehicle and fled the scene but was later taken into custody and transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center for medical evaluation.
The driver is still at the hospital and has not been formally arrested, booked, or charged, Minneapolis police said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The five victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Metro Transit Police and the Minneapolis Fire Department also responded to the location.
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The five friends were preparing for a wedding the next day
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the victims as Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20, Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, Siham Adan Odhowa, 19, and Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17.
The five were out together Friday night and had a friend’s wedding on Saturday, CBS Minnesota reported.
Ali had just graduated from Edina High School and was planning to attend the University of Minnesota, Gesaade was about to start her junior year at the U of M Rochester, Abdikadir attended Normandale College, Odhowa attended the U of M and Hersi attended Minneapolis College, the station reported.
The Dar Al Farooq Center, a Muslim faith-based non-profit in Minnesota, set up a LaunchGood to raise funds for their families. The non-profit has raised more than $364,000 as of Monday.
“We have lost five of our bright, young sisters in a severe car accident,” the Dar Al Farooq Center said in a statement on Facebook Saturday. “These young Muslim sisters were shining stars of hope for our future.”