Prosecutors: Former Eden Prairie police chaplain admitted being on phone when he hit family, drove off

A onetime Eden Prairie police chaplain said he was checking an incoming text when he hit a woman and her young children walking in an intersection and left them behind, according to felony charges.

John Charles Brecount, 64, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with four counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash at 8:18 p.m. on Aug. 21 at Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive.

The most seriously injured was Somaia Kamawal, who was 2 years old at the time. She spent six weeks in the hospital, the charges read. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, fractures to her pelvis, ribs and a vertebra, and numerous internal injuries, the charges said.

Her mother, Spogmai Kamawal, 27, and 11-month-old brother Samir were less seriously hurt, according to investigators.

The woman was pulling the two children in a wagon. Two other children — ages 3 and 4 — were walking with the family and not injured.

The County Attorney’s Office noted in the criminal complaint that it may seek an aggravated sentence, should Brecount be convicted, “based on the presence of ... siblings seeing, hearing or otherwise witnessing the crash.”

City spokeswoman Joyce Lorenz said Wednesday that Brecount is no longer a volunteer chaplain with the city. Lorenz said he was not working as a chaplain on the night of the wreck.

Brecount was charged by summons and is due in court on Jan. 6. Court records do not list an attorney for him. The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to Brecount for a response to the allegations.

According to the complaint and other court records:

Kamawal was in the crosswalk while crossing Mitchell Road soon after leaving for home from Pheasant Woods Park with the four children.

Brecount was heading north on Mitchell when he struck the woman and children and kept going. A piece of the pickup truck’s driver’s-side mirror was left behind.

Officers dispatched to the crash scene saw Kamawal carrying her injured 2-year-old daughter. Paramedics took the mother and all her children to a hospital.

Brecount explained that he left a church for home and thought he hit a crosswalk sign. He admitted that he was reading a text from his wife about picking up dinner.

Law enforcement analysis of Brecount’s cellphone confirmed his account of reading his texts about the time of the crash.

A State Patrol trooper went to Brecount’s Eden Prairie home and found the pickup parked outside with fresh damage to the left front side and the driver’s-side mirror.

Brecount said he never stopped to check on what he hit and that he saw his mirror was damaged. He also stated that he didn’t call 911 to report the crash or damage.