Unlicensed driver who admitted he was drunk, ran stop sign and fatally hit U student gets prison term

A Minneapolis man has been sent to prison for being drunk and driving without a license when he sped into an intersection, killed a University of Minnesota student in a crosswalk near campus and drove off.

Ali Abas Samator, 31, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court last week to a 7¾-year term after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Nov. 7 that killed 18-year-old Rylie Saloum of Albertville, Minn.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Samator is expected to serve nearly five years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Court records in Minnesota show that Samator also has been convicted of drunken driving twice and once for underage drinking.

On the day of the crash, Samator was driving after the state had canceled his license June 23, 2024, when he withdrew from participation in the ignition interlock program, said state Department of Public Safety spokesman Mark Karstedt.

Samator’s criminal history also includes two convictions for theft and one each for robbery, drug possession and driving after his license was revoked.

Saloum was a freshman at the U who graduated this past spring from St. Michael-Albertville High School. She died three days after the incident at HCMC.

Her family said in an online fundraising campaign that she was walking back to her dorm when she was struck.

According to the criminal complaint and a related court filing:

Police went to Cedar and Riverside avenues and saw Saloum down in the street with severe injuries. Emergency medical personnel took her to HCMC.

Surveillance video showed Saloum had the right of way while in the crosswalk, where a car’s driver ran a red light heading south on Cedar, hit Saloum and kept going.

The impact threw Saloum’s body 111 feet, according to a search warrant affidavit that police filed asking for court permission to collect the car’s computer data.

“Due to the distance [Saloum] was thrown, it is believed this crash took place at a speed well above the posted speed limit of 30 mph,” the affidavit read.

Samator headed onto northbound Interstate 35W and fled an effort by police to stop him. Moments later, he returned to the crash scene and drove through police tape.

Officers soon caught up to the car nearby, with Samator inside. He was arrested, and law enforcement secured a sample of his blood to measure intoxication. The results showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.