Words of pain, caution from father whose family was hit in Eden Prairie by driver who fled

A husband is speaking out with words of caution after a hit-and-run driver plowed into his wife while she pulled two of their children in a wagon in a Twin Cities intersection last week.

The crash near the family’s Eden Prairie home on Aug. 22 left one child, 2-year-old Somaia Kamawal, fighting for her life at HCMC. Her mother, 27-year-old Spogmai Kamawal, and her 11-month-old brother, Samir, were slightly injured. Two other small children on foot with the family were not physically harmed.

The State Patrol is leading the investigation into the crash about 8:20 p.m. at the intersection of Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive in Eden Prairie. There was no word as of Wednesday about either the driver or the vehicle being found.

“Seeing Somaia in the pediatric intensive care unit is very hard,” the children’s father, Naseer Kamawal, said in a statement released Tuesday evening by the hospital. “We know she is strong and our daughter is getting the best care, but it is still very difficult to see your precious child in critical condition.”

Naseer Kamawal urged drivers to “watch for pedestrians and use extra caution. If you’re walking, please be careful and watch for vehicles. ... It was wrong for someone to hit my family and drive away, I also don’t want this to happen to anyone else. Don’t let this person keep you from enjoying time with your family outdoors.”

The father thanked the first responders who rushed to his family’s aid at the Eden Prairieintersection, medical staff at HCMC and “our community who have been supporting us through these difficult few days, and law enforcement for their work to solve this case. ... We are looking for justice for our family and to have this case solved as soon as possible.”

An online fundraising campaign started on behalf of the Kamawals noted that “this family moved from St. Paul to Eden Prairie four years ago seeking a safer community and better opportunities for their children. Now, instead of living the life they worked so hard to build, they are facing unimaginable pain, medical bills, and the long road of recovery.”

The woman and her children were heading toward their home less than a half-mile away when the crash occurred.

Spogmai Kamawal was in the crosswalk while crossing Mitchell Road from west to east near Pheasant Woods Park. Two of the four children with her were in a wagon she was pulling.

A driver in a white vehicle heading north on Mitchell, where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, struck Spogmai Kamawal and Samir and Somaia in the wagon. The driver kept going. A piece of the vehicle’s driver’s-side mirror was left at the scene.

A reward is being offered through the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the crash.