Two sisters from Anoka remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition after being ejected during a serious car crash that injured five teenagers from the Somali community.
Four sisters ranging in age from 14 to 18 and their male cousin were leaving a family gathering on November 19 when they were injured in the crash on St. Paul’s East Side. Their Jeep Cherokee veered off the side of the road, struck multiple parked unoccupied cars and a utility pole, and then rolled over. The crash occurred around 7:15 p.m. as the car traveled northbound on White Bear Avenue near the intersection of Iowa Avenue.
An online fundraiser for the two teenagers in critical condition—Raheema Abdi, 18, and Ruweyda Abdi, 14—has raised more than $59,000 for the family’s medical expenses as of midday Thursday.
Ruweyda broke several bones and suffered injuries to her brain, lungs, spine, and liver. Internal bleeding prompted doctors to remove her spleen and kidney, according to family members. Raheema suffered a traumatic brain injury and several broken bones.
Both remain in an intensive care unit.
“It’s going to be a long road of rehabilitation for the girls, and that’s a full-time job in and of itself,” said Mohamed Abdirisak, who is organizing the fundraiser. Mohamed is cousins with the girls’ mother, and described himself as an uncle-like figure in their lives.
The other sisters in the car were Naeema Abdi, 16, and Hamdi Abdi, 17.
Mohamed and his brother often took the girls, who have a special love for K-dramas and K-pop, to the movies. During winter breaks, he’d sometimes take them to the Mall of America, where they’d shop for trinkets and the latest in-style Nike outfits.
“They were so excited for those mall trips, and we always had the mandatory boba tea and Chick-fil-A at the mall,” he said.
The girls’ cousin, Dalha Abdirizak, 18, was driving the vehicle, said St. Paul police spokesperson Sgt. Mike Ernster.
Speed was likely a factor in the crash, which did not involve any other moving vehicles, Ernster said. However, police said the crash remains under investigation and no official cause has been determined.
All five passengers were transported to the hospital after the crash. Naeema and Hamdi have since been released, said Mohamed.
Ruweyda is still under anesthesia, but had her breathing tube removed over the weekend. However, Mohamed said her condition is still serious and could still require a breathing tube.
Raheema is in the intensive care unit but is conscious and lucid, Mohamed said. She also recently had her breathing tube removed, and even took to Instagram this week to thank supporters.
“Salaam everyone I just all seen your prayers and donations,” she wrote on Mohamed’s Instagram account. “I’m happy to be given a second chance in lifelong road of recovery inshallah.”
It’s unclear whether Dalha is still in the hospital.
“The adult driver suffered significant injuries also and was upgraded to critical,” Ernster said Wednesday.
The fact that two of the passengers were ejected from the car indicate they possibly weren’t wearing seatbelts at the time, Ernster said, adding that the issue hasn’t been “completely determined.”
Ernster said a police investigator has been in touch with some of the passengers and their family members, and plans to interview the three most seriously injured passengers when they are physically able to address questions.
Support from across the world
Mohamed, 29, of Eagan, said he got a call about the crash the night of November 19 and rushed to the hospital. The girls and their cousin had been on their way home from a family gathering that was held after a wedding.
“The second I put my head down, I got a call at 11 p.m. telling me to come to the emergency room,” he said. “We didn’t really know what was going on, and family started trickling in. We knew that these injuries were severe, but we really started to learn the extent of it 24 hours later when I spoke to the ICU doctor.”
Raheema and Ruweyda were on ventilators at the time, Mohamed said, and Dalha was in the intensive care unit. Mohamed was accompanied by imams from Dar Al Farooq mosque in Bloomington, which is helping the family and promoting the fundraiser.
Both Ruweyda and Raheema were found several feet from the car; Ruweyda was roughly 15 feet away, Mohamed said. Ruweyda, the youngest and smallest passenger in the car, sustained the worst injuries, he added.
More than 2,000 people have donated to the online fundraiser. They include family, friends, and strangers, Mohamed said. He launched the online campaign on Thanksgiving.
“We’ve been getting support from all around the world—from the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe, and beyond—even donations from as far as Malaysia,” he said. “We don’t know what the future has in store for them, but at the moment, we’re focused on their healing process. Right now it’s just supporting the family because once the dust settles, they’re going to have to deal with a lot of the financial ramifications.”
Mohamed, and his brother usually visit the girls and their mother every Sunday.
“We just sit in the living room, all of us, and the kids will come down, and we’ll just shoot the breeze, talk about what’s going on in life,” he said.
All four of the girls go or went to Irondale High School in New Brighton. Raheema recently graduated high school, Mohamed said, and planned on going to school to become a nurse. Hamdi, a senior, is the most outgoing of the four and was in the middle of a business technology internship at Genesys Works. She also formerly played on the high school girl’s basketball team.
Ruwedya likes to draw and is interested in a career as a graphic designer. Mohamed described her as “a sweetheart in the family” who is generally quiet and keeps to herself. She just started high school.
“I always tried to pay special attention to her, because she was the youngest,” Mohamed said. “She was the first person I saw in the ICU, and it really affected me.”
Mohamed said he hopes that one outcome of the tragedy will be a public discussion of safety and teen driving within the Somali community.
“We are largely a young community, and tragedies like this have happened in the past,” he said. “We need to get to the root cause of this and really put public awareness out there.” Donations to the family fundraiser, which is open through December 24, can be made here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/support_for_the_families_of_the_5_muslim_teens_in_the_saint_paul_crash#!/
