Minneapolis police suspect driver going at least 60 mph when causing chain-reaction crash with train

The SUV driver who triggered a chain-reaction crash with a train in Minneapolis is suspected of going at least 60 miles per hour at the moment of impact with an SUV waiting for a train to pass, police said in a court filing.

The revelation came in a search warrant affidavit filed by police in Hennepin Court District Court on Wednsday in connection with the collision about 2:30 that morning that critically injured the speeding driver and left the SUV driver he hit seriously hurt.

Mustafa Omer Hassan, of Fridley, was initially reported to be in critical condition at HCMC and has since been upgraded to satisfactory, a hospital spokeswoman said midday Thursday. The driver police say he hit, 49-year-old Janise Hendrickson, of St. Anthony, remains in serious condition after suffering a broken pelvis.

The affidavit cleared the way for police to collect electronic data from Hassan’s SUV as part of their investigation.

According to a police statement and their court filing:

Hendrickson was driving a Cadillac Escalade and stopped on northbound Central while the train passed. Hassan, driving a Toyota Rav4, hit the Cadillac from behind.

The impact pushed both SUVs into the train. Hassan’s vehicle briefly caught fire until a passerby put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.

“A traffic investigator on scene observed the speedometer of the Toyota to be locked/pegged at 68-69 mph,” the filing read. “A 911 caller also indicated the speed of the Toyota was approximately 60 mph.”

Police said they are sorting out the circumstances leading up to the crash, including whether intoxication was a factor.