Plea deal for 1 of 2 sisters charged in hit-and-run death of Twin Cities scooter rider

One of two sisters charged with the hit-and-run death of a man on a motorized scooter in Minneapolis has taken a plea deal from prosecutors while the other woman remains a fugitive more than eight months since the crash.

Victoria Nevada Yorahee, 26, of Mesa, Ariz., agreed last week to plead guilty in Hennepin County District Court to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with her driving during the crash on July 29 at the intersection of Fremont and 22nd avenues N. that injured 52-year-old Andre Zedrick Steward, of Minneapolis. He died on Aug. 2.

The plea agreement calls for Yorahee to receive a term of slightly more than 3½ years when she is sentenced on May 12. With credit for time in jail since her arrest, she is expected to serve just shy of two years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Her sister, Tianna Renee Yorahee, 19, of Minneapolis, has yet to be found by law enforcement, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday. She is charged with a felony count of aiding an offender to avoid arrest.

In an online fundraising campaign, Steward’s family wrote, “Our dad was a loving and caring person who touched the lives of many. He always put others first and was a pillar of strength for our family.”

Investigators used witness accounts and surveillance video to piece together the circumstances of the crash:

Officers arrived and saw a heavily damaged SUV on top of the scooter on Fremont about a half-block south of the intersection. A severely injured Steward was on the pavement nearby. He died at North Memorial Health Hospital.

Victoria Yorahee was driving with her sister and an unidentified female as passengers. After the crash, all three exited the SUV. Victoria Yorahee removed the lone license plate from the rear of the vehicle. The two passengers threw several liquor bottles into the bushes. The women ran off while witnesses chased them.

Data from the SUV revealed that Victoria Yorahee was traveling 78 to 83 miles per hour at the time of impact.

About two weeks later, Steward’s daughter told police the sisters fled to Las Vegas. The daughter gave police contact information for a witness in Las Vegas who had spoken to both sisters. The witness told police he was introduced to the Yorahees because the sisters “wanted help with their situation,” the charges continued.

During a meeting, Victoria Yorahee told the witness she was driving drunk and hit a man on what she described as a motorcycle. The witness said he told Victoria Yorahee to call police, but she refused. That’s when the witness contacted Steward’s family on social media and told them he had met with the sisters.