A Ramsey County judge declined to imprison a man who fatally hit a pedestrian in St. Paul as he sped more than 75 miles per hour through a red light in a 25 mph zone and then kept going. Instead, a year in the workhouse was imposed.
Abdirahman A. Hassan, 21, of St. Paul was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash July 11, 2023, that killed 31-year-old Tashawn Burks, also of St. Paul.
Judge DeAnne Hilgers set aside a possible four-year sentence, which would have meant 2⅔ years of that time spent in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Hilgers also gave Hassan five years of supervised probation. Among the probationary terms outlined by Hilgers is that Hassan has no traffic violations.
Court records show that four months before the crash, a state trooper clocked Hassan at 90 mph on Interstate 694 in New Brighton. He was ticketed and convicted of driving 75 mph.
According to the criminal complaint involving Burks’ death:
Officers arrived at the intersection of Concordia Avenue and Dale Street, where Burks was pronounced dead.
One driver waiting on southbound Dale at the red light saw Burks walking north against the light. When Burks was halfway into the intersection, the driver heard a vehicle’s engine rev, then saw a speeding car hit Burks. The heavily damaged car stopped within a half-mile.
