Hennepin County prosecutors charged a woman Monday, with hitting and killing a 22-year-old University of St. Thomas senior in March.
Prosecutors say Gabryela Marie Liebgott, 22, of St. Paul, allegedly killed Sehem Hassen around 3 a.m. on March 23 as Hassen crossed Marshall Street near 16th Avenue in Minneapolis. Hennepin County prosecutors charged Liebgott with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide.
Liebgott is currently in the Hennepin County Jail. A judge set bond at $150,000.
According to charging documents, Liebgott did not slow the car down as she drove through at a high speed while Hassen prepared to cross. Parts of Hassen’s clothes were scattered in the street, and the driver’s-side mirror was in the roadway.
Medics treated Hassen, who later died at the Hennepin Healthcare. She was on track to graduate in May.
Investigators gathered video from a nearby parked Tesla that caught the collision, according to the charging documents. The video showed Hassen’s body flung onto the windshield before falling beneath the car.
A shop that specializes in vinyl exterior wraps called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on March 30 to report a 2005 Infiniti G35 with hood damage and a missing driver’s-side mirror. Minneapolis police collected apparent blood samples from the vehicle’s exterior.
The shop owner told police someone named “Gabby” wanted to have the car wrapped, but also store it, according to the charging documents. She never called back to check on the car. Police ran the car’s plates and found it registered to one of Liebgott’s relatives.
Investigators also found Liebgott swiped her ID to enter the Minneapolis VFW on Lyndale Avenue South around 1 a.m. the night of the killing. Two people who said they were in the car with Liebgott when she hit Hassen told police she’d been drinking.
Multiple cameras caught Liebgott’s car leaving the VFW and swerving into oncoming traffic, according to the charging documents. The car was recorded driving down Hennepin Avenue, onto Minnesota Highway 280 and into St. Paul.
If convicted, Liebgott faces up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine for each count.
