Background: News footage of the intersection in St. Paul, Minn., where Seham Hassen was killed on March 22 (KARE). Inset: Gabryella Liebgott (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office).
A Minnesota woman who allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian then tried to cover up the damage to her car was apparently caught on camera.
Gabryella Liebgott, 22, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in connection with the hit-and-run death of college student Seham Hassen, also 22, on March 22. According to a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime, an Infiniti G35 sedan registered to Liebgott was left at an auto repair shop that specialized in vinyl wrapping more than a week after the incident. When investigators from the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office inspected the car, they soon discovered that it had very similar damage to a car they believed was involved in the hit-and-run.
Police said they had seen the car in video footage taken by a Tesla that was parked near the scene of the fatal crash.
According to police, Hassen was out with a group of friends in St. Paul, Minnesota, around 3 a.m. on March 22. As she and her friends got out of their car, Hassen was struck by a speeding car as she went to cross the street. Police said she was struck with such force that "remnants of her clothing were torn from her body and were scattered in the street." The side mirror from the car that struck Hassen was ripped off.
Hassen was taken to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. She was months away from graduating from the University of St. Thomas.
Police wrote that a Tesla parked in the same neighborhood captured the entire incident. According to the probable cause statement, Hassen was seen trying to turn away from the road and avoid the car that was speeding toward her, but "didn't have time." The impact sent Hassen onto the windshield of the car that struck her, then she fell beneath the car, which ran her over.
The suspect vehicle then sped away without stopping.
On March 30, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office was made aware of a car at an auto repair shop that had a ripped-off side mirror and damage similar to the suspect vehicle seen on the Tesla's video. Investigators spoke to the shop's owner, who told them that he got a call on March 23 from someone who wanted to bring their car in for vinyl wrapping "but also wanted the vehicle to be stored at the shop for a period of time."
The owner told investigators that the person who called said they were going to order parts to repair the car at a later time. Police said the owner found this "strange," because normally repairs were completed before vinyl wrapping was applied. According to the probable cause statement, a woman named "Gabby" dropped the car off and provided her phone number, but never came back for the car. Police ran the car's registration and traced it to Liebgott.
Police inspected the car in question and said they found damage consistent with the damage that the suspect vehicle would have sustained in the crash. While the car was processed at the Minneapolis Police Forensic Garage, investigators found blood and fibers that matched the dress Hassen was wearing when she was killed.
According to the probable cause statement, police were able to figure out where Liebgott was during the early morning hours of March 22. Police said she was out drinking with two friends at a local VFW hall, where her ID was swiped upon entry around 1 a.m. Liebgott and her friends left the VFW around 2 a.m., and her car was seen "speeding recklessly" and "swerving" into oncoming traffic.
Police interviewed both of Liebgott's friends, who said all three of them were drinking that night. The friend who was sitting in the front passenger seat as Liebgott drove told police that she remembered "striking something hard and immediately seeing white fabric draped across the windshield." The friend who was in the back seat asked Liebgott if she had hit something, to which she replied that she had, and her mirror was gone. According to the probable cause statement, the friends said Liebgott "considered stopping" but accelerated instead.
Both women told police that they, along with several others, urged Liebgott to turn herself in.
Liebgott was arrested on April 3 and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide. She is currently in custody at the Hennepin County Jail, where she is being held on $150,000 bail. Her first court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday.
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