By Amy Forliti
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota man charged with killing a mother and her two sons after allegedly slamming a vehicle into their car while fleeing police began yelling and crying when told about the deaths and begged an officer to kill him, according to criminal charges filed Tuesday.
Rufus Onel Victor, 29, of Bloomington, faces three counts of criminal vehicular homicide and other charges in the Saturday morning crash in Minneapolis that killed Amanda Thomas, 29, her 12-year-old son, Andre, and her 3-month-old son Akeron.
Victor fled the crash on foot then lied about his involvement when he was found, according to the complaint. When officers told him someone had died, he began asking who and how many people, the complaint said. When officers told him two people were dead and a third might die, Victor became agitated.
He also said: “Sir, kill me,” and “I don’t deserve to live,” the complaint said. Prosecutors say Victor also told officers to “tell them I am sorry, I love them.”
It was not immediately clear whether Victor, who has a criminal record dating back to 1999, had an attorney Tuesday. The public defender’s office said he had not been assigned an attorney and he was being held on $2 million bail and was unavailable for comment.
Online jail records show Victor had been released from custody just four days before the crash. He had been arrested Nov. 29 and held on probable cause of receiving or concealing stolen property, but was released because 48 hours had passed and he wasn’t charged.
According to Tuesday’s complaint, a Minnesota state trooper saw a red Honda with Illinois plates being driven erratically around 12:30 a.m. Saturday on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle on a highway exit ramp, but the vehicle instead ran a red light and accelerated to at least 90 mph.
The Honda then went through another red light and hit a blue Chevy Caprice in the middle of an intersection, the complaint said, and the driver of the Honda ran away.
“The whole driver’s side of the (Thomas) vehicle had been pushed approximately half way into the interior compartment of the vehicle,” the complaint said. Thomas, of Fridley, and Andre were pronounced dead at the scene. Akeron was in an infant seat and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but was later pronounced dead.
Officers found Victor on nearby railroad tracks, and he initially told police he was in the area smoking crack. Officers told him he was a suspect in the crash.
After learning of the deaths he allegedly told officers: “I don’t deserve anything good to happen to me. I did something real bad. I did it and I tried to lie my way out of it,” the complaint said.