Inset (left): John Brecount (Eden Prairie Police Department/Facebook). Inset (right): Somaia Kamawal (KSTP). Background: The collision scene that injured Somaia Kamawal (KSTP).
A Minnesota man has admitted responsibility for a hit‑and‑run that left a little girl seriously injured.
John Brecount, 65, pleaded guilty to causing a crash that resulted in great bodily harm and to leaving the scene. The charges stem from an August 21, 2025, accident that severely hurt 2‑year‑old Somaia Kamawal. Local ABC affiliate KSTP reported that Somaia was one of two children riding in a wagon pulled by their mother, Spogmai Kamawal, who also had her two other children with her.
A criminal complaint obtained by KSTP says Somaia sustained a traumatic brain injury, broken bones and lacerations to her spleen and kidney, keeping her in the hospital for more than a month.
Police said Kamawal and her four children were leaving a park in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, around 8:30 p.m. on August 21, 2025, just after sunset. As they entered the marked crosswalk, two of Kamawal’s children walked beside her while Somaia and her sibling rode in the wagon.
According to the complaint, one driver stopped to let the family cross, but another driver in a white sedan,later identified as Brecount,drove through without stopping. His car struck Kamawal and the two children in the wagon.
The day after the crash, Brecount called a police officer to ask about the incident. After the officer told him a child had been hospitalized, Brecount,a volunteer chaplain with the Eden Prairie Police and Fire Departments,said, “I think it was me.”
Brecount explained that he believed he had clipped a pedestrian sign, damaging his rear‑view mirror. After being read his rights, he admitted he was checking his phone and reading a text from his wife when he heard a “bump.” He then texted his wife to say he thought he had hit something, and he never stopped or called 911.
Police confirmed through cellphone data and surveillance video that Brecount was using his phone at the time of the crash.
Brecount received a summons and was not booked into jail. He entered his guilty plea on October 5, and his next hearing is set for December 7.
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