Unlicensed driver in fatal I-94 ramp crash is charged, still on run

Kidnapping and hit-and-run charges have been filed against the motorist who crashed an SUV on a freeway in Minneapolis and fled, leaving one passenger dead and another badly injured.

Repeat felon Andre J. Ogburn, 31, of Minneapolis, was charged last week in Hennepin County District Court. A nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Ogburn was driving a borrowed SUV on Interstate 94 toward downtown midafternoon on Sept. 16 when it crashed on the N. 7th Street exit ramp, the charges said.

Passenger Kimel M. Sykes, 57, of Minneapolis, died at the scene after being thrown from the vehicle. Another passenger, David J. Bryant, 37, of Minneapolis, was taken to HCMC with serious injuries and remained hospitalized Monday in satisfactory condition.

Ogburn was gone by the time officers arrived and "is believed to have fled the state of Minnesota," according to the charges.

Friday's criminal complaint provides the most detailed account so far:

A passing motorist stopped at the crash scene, and a bleeding Ogburn got into her vehicle uninvited. He pointed a gun at the woman and said that someone is dead, "and I don't want to go down for this."

Police and state troopers found Sykes dead and Bryant unconscious. A Metro Mobility driver said that the SUV swerved around him, went up the embankment and hit a tree.

The next day, Ogburn told the SUV owner that he had to flee; he wasn't supposed to be driving because of drunken driving convictions.

Authorities describe Ogburn as black, bald, tattooed on his neck, 5 feet 7 and 200 to 230 pounds. His criminal history includes four convictions for driving after having his license revoked and three for fleeing police, two for drunken driving and one each for drug possession and criminal vehicular operation. He's on federal probation for dealing heroin.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482