Semi Driver Charged After Crash Seriously Injured 2

Jul 14

A Minneapolis semi-truck driver is facing felony charges after allegedly running a stop sign and causing a major crash north of Rochester that seriously injured two people last summer.

Mohamed Mukhtar Abdi, 39, is charged with one count of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm and another count of criminal vehicular operation causing substantial bodily harm, both through gross negligence.

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According to the charges, the crash happened around 9:24 a.m. on August 13, 2024, at the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 247 in Farmington Township. A Minnesota State Trooper arrived to find a semi-truck on its side across the highway and a green Toyota Prius in a nearby ditch. The two people in the Prius—an adult man and woman—were both seriously injured.

The driver of the Prius was talking at the scene but was holding his chest. He was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital with a range of severe injuries, including multiple fractured vertebrae, bilateral lung aspiration, aortic trauma, internal bleeding near the hip and a collapsed lung.

The passenger was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital. Her injuries included multiple broken ribs and a fractured arm, spinal fractures, head trauma, a collapsed lung and a “Grade 5” splenic injury—the most severe classification.

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Abdi reportedly told the trooper that he had been driving eastbound on County Road 12 and was unable to stop because his brakes failed. He said he ran the stop sign at Highway 63 as a result.

Two witnesses contradicted Abdi’s explanation. One said they saw his semi approach the intersection without slowing down before colliding with the Prius. Another, who was driving behind the semi, said they also saw no braking before the crash and noticed that the truck’s brake lights never came on.

A post-crash inspection was conducted the following day by another state trooper. The inspection reportedly found no evidence of brake failure that would have contributed to the crash.

If convicted, Abdi faces up to five years in prison on the most serious charge and he’s been summoned to appear in court.

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