Bob CollinsWe know a little more about the accident that killed a pedestrian when a car jumped the sidewalk in Dinkytown a little more than a week ago.
The criminal complaint from the Hennepin County Attorney tells us that (a) it wasn’t an accident and (b) the person who allegedly intentionally struck the group isn’t sorry he did it.
Timothy Bakdash, 29, is charged with one count of second-degree murder and two felony counts of assault in the April 15th accident that killed Benjamin Van Handel, 23 and left a woman unable to walk.
Bakdash allegedly drove his car down the wrong way on 5th Street, intending to kill a group of people with whom he’d had an argument at the Library Bar, the complaint says. It, however, references only someone — identified as “B.B” — who fingered Bakdash as the driver.
Says the complaint:
“Defendant then got into his vehicle, a Mitsubishi Galant, and traveled down the wrong way on a one-way street where he drove onto the sidewalk and struck the group of pedestrians. Defendant admitted he intended to hit and kill three of the people there, but stated he struck a fourth person whom he did not intentionally hit. He stated he had no remorse for hitting the others.”
What we don’t know, however, is whether the alleged killer is currently without remorse, or whether that was a statement made the same night. The police interviewed “B.B.” last Thursday.
Who is “B.B.?” Apparently he — or maybe, she — is the person who bought the weapon — the car — for $1,500. He/she said that Bakdash’s mother told him “he had to get ride of that car that night.” It was mom’s car.
From the sound of the complaint, “B.B” knew what was going on here, too, because, the complaint says, he started working on the repairs the same night. That there have been no charges filed against “B.B.” would suggest the possibility of a deal in exchange for testimony.
MPR’s Brandt Williams is covering the story.
