Five Minnesota families were forever changed by a car crash in South Minneapolis

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — It’s a day the Gesaade family will never forget. 

Sitting in their Brooklyn Center home, Sahra’s five siblings and father remembered her life.

“Every night I feel pain,” her father Liban Gesaade said.

Sahra was in a car with her four best friends: Sabiriin Ali, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi, and Siham Adam.

They were getting henna tattoos and running errands for a friend’s wedding happening the following day.

They were blindsided and killed by a speeding vehicle on Lake Street.

Investigators say Derrick Thompson was behind the wheel.

He’s facing charges not only for the tragic crash, but for fentanyl possession and a gun police say they found inside the rental SUV.

“I can’t personally get over anything until I know for a fact justice has been served,” said Hana Gesaade, Sahra’s older sister.

Until that happens, Hana said her family is leaning on their Muslim faith.

“It’s a lot of praying, making dua and hoping for the best,” Hana said. 

Not only for her sister, but her best friends who lost their lives too.

Through the pain, a glimmer of hope for the straight A student’s family.

A scholarship in her name.

“It’s Sahra’s scholarship,” her sister Rukia smiled. “It’s something that means a lot to us, and I hope it means a lot to them to.”

Her brother Hanad Gesaade remembers the event the family attended at University of Minnesota-Rochester — where Sahra attended — and was touched by the support his sister received by faculty and friends.

Another brother, Cabdifitax Gesaade, said it was fitting because Sahra was the person always on him to be on top of his schoolwork. When asked what he would say to his sister if he had the chance, he paused, smiled and said, ‘I wish I could show her my high school diploma’.

Sahra meant so much to her siblings and her presence is missed, but the family finds comfort knowing the legacy she leaves behind.

Sitting on the couch after the interview, they flipped through pictures of Sahra and smiled as they remembered on the good times they had.

It’s the little things that get the Gesaade family through the tough days as they continue to move in a world without their hero in it.

This scholarship means a lot to the family because Sahra had won a scholarship herself — to attend Rochester for a Health Science Degree. They’re hoping to raise $10,000 on Give to the Max Day in November.