Mom's link disputed in fatal Dinkytown hit-and-run

Diane Bakdash is charged with helping her son cover up his alleged role in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Dinkytown.

June 7, 2011 at 5:33AM

A Roseville woman suspected of telling her son to get rid of a car involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Dinkytown in April is seeking to have charges against her thrown out because a key witness is casting doubt on whether it was her voice he heard in the background of a phone conversation, according to a newly filed motion.

The motion filed Friday to dismiss felony charges against Diane Bakdash includes an interview with the witness, identified in court papers only as B.B. That person bought Timothy Bakdash's damaged Mitsubishi soon after the April 15 crash, a car that Timothy Bakdash allegedly used to run down a group of college students as they walked home from a bar near the University of Minnesota.

Benjamin Van Handel, 23, a U student from Appleton, Wis., died five days later of injuries suffered in the crash. Timothy Bakdash, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, while Diane Bakdash, a 66-year-old nurse, is charged with being an accomplice after the fact.

Charges against mother and son indicate that B.B. heard Diane Bakdash tell her son to "get rid of the car that night." After B.B. bought the car, he said Timothy Bakdash admitted having "quite a few drinks" before he got into a fight with a group and ran them down with his car. None of the people struck, however, had any interaction with Timothy Bakdash that night, prosecutors later said.

In an interview with an investigator hired by Diane Bakdash's defense attorney, B.B. said he had known Timothy Bakdash since high school and had been planning to buy the car for several months. When Timothy Bakdash told him the car had been in an accident, B.B. offered to buy it for $1,500, and did so on April 16. The witness said Bakdash didn't explain the circumstances behind the crash until after B.B. had signed the title two days later, charges say.

The witness said he was wrong when he told police that he heard Diane Bakdash in the background during a phone call about the car. He said in the interview he heard a woman's voice, but doesn't know if the woman was Diane Bakdash. He said Timothy Bakdash told him it wasn't his mother.

The witness said in the interview that he told police "at least three times now that when I was on the phone with Bakdash, that I overheard a woman. Whether it was his mother, I don't have a clue."

Diane Bakdash's attorney, Ryan Garry, said there is no evidence to show that she knew about the incident. A hearing is likely to follow the motion.

"Diane Bakdash is facing a charge that could put her in prison for a very long time on a crime that she did not commit," Garry said.

Diane Bakdash was released from jail after posting $100,000 bail. Timothy Bakdash remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921

about the writer

about the writer

Abby Simons

Team Leader

Abby Simons is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Public Safety Editor. Her team covers crime and courts across the metro. She joined the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2008 and previously reported on crime, courts and politics.

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