Police Chaplain Charged in Eden Prairie Hit-and-Run Crash

Dec 16

A volunteer police chaplain is now facing multiple charges after prosecutors say he viewed a text message from his wife just prior to a hit-and-run crash in Eden Prairie.

The crash left a two-year-old child with life-threatening injuries and sent her mother to the hospital.

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According to the criminal complaint, the crash happened around 8:18 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2025, at the intersection of Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive.

Police say a woman was walking across Mitchell Road in a marked crosswalk with her four children when a driver struck them and kept going. The woman was pulling some of the children in a wagon, which officers later found tipped over in the crosswalk. The two-year-old child was non-responsive at the scene, vomiting and showing signs of serious trauma, while the woman and the other children were also injured and taken to the hospital.

PREVIOUSLY: Eden Prairie Hit-and-Run Leaves Child in Critical Condition

Investigators say the driver did not stop or call 911. Instead, he continued on and later went to a Culver’s restaurant, where he checked damage to his vehicle. Officers recovered parts of a side mirror and plastic debris at the crash scene and quickly determined the driver involved had fled.

The following day, police received a phone call from John Charles Brecourt, a 63-year-old Eden Prairie man who was serving at the time as a volunteer chaplain with the Eden Prairie Police Department. According to the complaint, Brecourt told an officer, “I think it was me,” after learning a two-year-old child had been critically injured. He said he believed he had struck a crosswalk sign while driving north on Mitchell Road the night before and acknowledged his driver’s side mirror was damaged.

Officers responded to Brecourt’s home and observed fresh damage to the left side of his truck, including a broken driver’s side mirror missing its plastic housing. Police noted damage along the left front and driver’s side door, including a large dent with residue on the front fender. Investigators determined the plastic mirror cover found at the scene matched the mirror assembly on Brecourt’s vehicle.

In a Mirandized statement, Brecourt told investigators he left a church in Eden Prairie shortly after 8 p.m. and was driving north on Mitchell Road when he became distracted by a text message from his wife asking him to pick up dinner. He said he looked down at his phone, heard a “bump,” and noticed his mirror was broken with the glass hanging by a cord. Despite realizing he had struck something and seeing damage to his vehicle, he admitted he did not stop to check what or who he hit and did not report the crash.

READ MORE > Eden Prairie coverage

Cell phone data reviewed by investigators showed activity on Brecourt’s phone at the time of the crash, including opening and closing text messaging applications between 8:17 and 8:18 p.m., with location data placing the phone at Mitchell Road and Chestnut Drive. Surveillance video showed his truck leaving a church parking lot shortly after 8:13 p.m. and driving north on Mitchell Road minutes before the crash. A responding officer’s squad camera also captured the truck traveling north on Mitchell Road at 8:19:46 p.m.

Forensic testing conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found blood on multiple areas of the truck, along with fibers in the rear driver-side wheel well. DNA testing linked the adult woman struck in the crash to the vehicle and confirmed Brecourt’s DNA on the damaged mirror assembly.

The adult woman later told investigators that southbound traffic had stopped for her family in the crosswalk but a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction did not stop. She said a plastic object from the vehicle struck her. Investigators obtained a crash reconstruction report from the Minnesota State Patrol, which concluded that weather, roadway conditions, crosswalk design, speed, and visibility were not factors. The report determined the crash was caused by the driver using a cell phone and failing to recognize pedestrians in the crosswalk.

In a previous statement, the Eden Prairie Police Department said Brecourt was a leader in the local faith community and was serving as a volunteer chaplain with the Police and Fire Departments at the time of the incident. He was not volunteering on Aug. 21, and he has not served in that capacity since the crash, the department said.

“We are heartbroken by this incident and the impact it has had on the Kamawal family,” Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett said in a written statement. “Our thoughts are with two-year-old Somaia Kamawal as she continues to heal and recover from her injuries.”

The two-year-old child remained hospitalized for 41 days. Medical records described multiple injuries including a traumatic brain injury, internal organ injuries, multiple fractures, respiratory failure, and other serious conditions. Some of those injuries had not fully resolved at the time of discharge. The child underwent multiple medical procedures during her hospitalization. The adult woman also required hospital care for abrasions and swelling.

Brecourt has been charged with two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation involving great bodily harm, including one count for leaving the scene, along with two gross misdemeanor counts related to bodily harm and leaving the scene involving the adult victim. Prosecutors have filed a notice indicating they may seek an aggravated sentence.

Court records show Brecourt is not currently in custody and was served with a summons to appear in court. A booking photo is not yet available.

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