As murder charges are filed in most recent in a string of car crash tragedies, traffic safety director speaks out

On Tuesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced one count of second-degree murder and five counts of second-degree assault charges against the woman who plowed a car into a group of people in downtown Minneapolis, killing a 16-year-old girl and injuring five others. On Monday, Moriarty’s office announced new charges against Derrick John Thompson who last year sped through a red light in Minneapolis and smashed into a car, killing five young women.These incidents, along with the drunk driving crash at Park Tavern earlier in September, are a string of worrisome tragedies involving cars that turn into lethal objects.Mary Moriarty has said she is seeing an increasing number of driving tragedies in recent months. The director of the Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety, Mike Hanson, joined Minnesota Now to provide context for the string of crash incidents.