Minneapolis, MN
Red light runner charged almost a year after hitting, killing a mother in Minneapolis
Mother killed crossing Minneapolis street
A mother was killed, and her two children were injured, after being hit by a car crossing a street in south Minneapolis. FOX 9’s Rose Schmidt has the latest details on the deadly incident.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man has been charged almost a year after he hit and killed a mother who pushed her children out of the way before being hit.
Duaale Abdirasaq Hirsi, 23, has been charged with criminal vehicle homicide and criminal vehicular operation almost 11 months after the crash.
An arrest warrant is currently out for Hirsi.
PAST COVERAGE: Mother killed, 2 children injured after being struck by car in Minneapolis
What happened?
According to the charges, on Sept. 22, 2023, Minneapolis police responded to a report of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian while crossing the street near Lake Street and Blaisdell Avenue South.
At the scene, a woman, who was then identified by police as 36-year-old Annalee Wright was found lying in the street, court documents say.
The complaint states that Wright and her two children, aged 14 and six, were crossing Lake Street on a green light when a vehicle being driven by Hirsi allegedly ran a red light, hitting Wright.
Before being hit, Wright had pushed her children out of the way, but her 14-year-old child was still sideswiped, the charges say.
According to court documents, Wright was taken to the hospital where she died three days later due to severe head injuries and multiple fractures. The 14-year-old suffered a fractured arm and abrasions due to being sideswiped.
Hirsi stayed at the scene after hitting Wright and her child, the charges said.
What witnesses saw
One witness told police he was on an MTC bus that was on Blaisdell Avenue when the incident occurred. The bus dropped off Wright and her children near the intersection of Blaisdell Avenue and Lake Street, court documents said.
The witness then said, as the bus was about to enter the intersection on a green light, he saw two cars in the left lane on Lake Street heading west stopped at the red light. Hirisi was in the right lane and reportedly did not stop for the red light and “sped through the intersection,” the witness continued.
According to court documents, the witness said the bus had to brake to avoid hitting Hirsi, and Hirsi then hit Wright.
Another witness who was driving in the left lane on Lake Street with her boyfriend at the time of the incident told police she was about to merge into the right lane, and had room to do so, when Hirsi allegedly “aggressively” sped up on her, so she moved back into the left lane, the charges said. She also said that Hirsi reportedly “glared at her”, which took his eyes off the road.
The witness continued to say that Hirsi continued to “glare” at her as he accelerated and passed her, running the red light and hitting Wright, the complaint states.
Hirsi allegedly never used his brakes before hitting Wright.
The witness’ boyfriend gave the same description of what happened, and also described Hirsi losing control of his car after hitting Wright, court documents say.
What surveillance footage shows
Court documents say that surveillance video shows that the intersection was busy during the incident. All the cars in the video had their headlights on, but Hirsi’s car did not.
The video shows Hirsi failing to stop at the red light, just missing a car that was in the intersection, and hitting Wright. The video also confirmed that Hirsi did not brake when the light was red, and did not brake before hitting Wright and her child, the charges say.
How fast was Hirsi driving?
The speed limit on Lake Street was 30 mph, and at the scene, Hirsi told police he was driving on the right late at about 45 mph, court documents said.
Hirsi allegedly made “inconsistent” statements about the color of the traffic light to police, the charges state. He did reportedly admit to speeding.
Minneapolis, MN
After raising money for immigrant families, Minneapolis adult store asks community for help
After spending months helping immigrant families weather the economic fallout of federal immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities, Smitten Kitten is asking the community for help sustaining itself.
The adult retail store in Minneapolis’ Lyn-Lake neighborhood issued a public plea for community financial support.
The strain comes after months of directing staff and volunteer time, resources and fundraising efforts toward mutual aid work that supported immigrants during Operation Metro Surge.
The store became one of the most visible community aid hubs after the federal operation began. Following the killing of Renee Good, Smitten Kitten began collecting groceries, diapers, toilet paper and other essentials.
“Nothing is going to change unless we’re going to do something,” said Anne Lehman, Smitten Kitten social media manager and mutual aid advisor.
The store also helped direct efforts toward rent relief for immigrants facing heightened uncertainty and economic hardship.
“People had been hiding out since October. They’re going to need things like diapers, toilet paper and water.” Lehman said. “We ended up opening our store as a donation drop-off stop.”
Community support quickly exceeded expectations.
“It felt like every fifteen minutes someone was pulling up in an SUV that just came from Costco,” Lehman said. “As soon as we got it, it would be gone because of how great the need was.”
Lehman said that the attention also created safety concerns for staff and visitors.
“We had to move where our stuff was because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had caught on to what we were doing and tried to intimidate us,” said Lehman.
In response, the store decided to move its operations elsewhere and began to focus on raising money for necessities. According to Lehman, the establishment raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various needs.
The operation, in part, ended by mid-February, and federal presence in Minnesota diminished. As things began to wind down, so did cash flow at Smitten Kitten.
“There were a lot of weeks where we were cutting it close on payroll,” said Lehman.
In a social media post, Lehman asked the community to come help support the store by asking for donations, asking people to shop at their store or online.
“We are asking for help, but also all of these things that we’re pouring all of our energy into is not going away,” said Lehman. “If we want to continue doing mutual aid, we have to have a solid foundation of our business as well.”
MINNEAPOLIS — Real Capital Solutions (RCS) has acquired 3701 Wayzata Boulevard, a 308,681-square-foot office property in the Urban West End neighborhood of Minneapolis, for $34 million. Situated on 25.8 acres overlooking Brownie and Cedar lakes, the nine-story asset is 99 percent leased and serves as the headquarters location for several companies such as Tactile Medical, SRF Consulting Group, Regis Corp. and MOBE.
Originally developed as a corporate headquarters campus for Prudential and later occupied by Target Corp., the property underwent a comprehensive renovation and repositioning in 2019. Amenities today include a fitness center, conference facilities, a golf simulator, onsite café, outdoor gathering spaces, a rooftop patio, bike storage and direct access to regional trail systems.
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