Hit and run: Car crashes into crowd, 16-year-old girl killed and others injured

A 16-year-old girl died and five others were injured when a driver plowed into a crowd in downtown Minneapolis shortly after midnight Saturday.

Police arrested a 22-year-old woman who allegedly drove into the crowd and then fled downtown. She is in jail pending possible charges against her.

“There are no words to describe how tragic and senseless it is to lose a 16-year-old girl over something like this,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said. “As the suspect drove through the crowd, there were at least a dozen people standing directly in front of the vehicle.”

The incident was triggered by a fight between teenagers and young adults, O'Hara said.

Preliminary information indicates the driver of the vehicle left the altercation to take control of an SUV, backed up on Hennepin Avenue and then drove the wrong way on Fifth Street North before running into a large group of people. Although the investigation is ongoing, O'Hara said video footage led him to believe “this was clearly not accidental.”

“We have a number of leads that we are working through, as well as a number of surveillance and cell phone video evidence that we believe could lead to additional arrests,” O'Hara said. “There was a fight prior to this where it appears at least one woman was seriously injured before she was run over.”

All victims were taken to Hennepin Healthcare Hospital, including the 16-year-old girl who died there. Among the injured were two 14-year-old girls and two men in their 20s who are expected to survive. A 29-year-old woman remains in critical condition.