It’s been nearly a year, but now a St. Paul family has some answers after a man was hit by a driver and killed while walking through an intersection.

This week, 20-year-old Abdirahman Hassan was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and is accused of crashing his car while driving three times the speed limit last July. It happened on Concordia Avenue near Dale Street.

Ta’Shawn Burks, 31, died after he was hit while walking in the intersection.

“Ever since the accident, we’ve been trying to figure out what’s going to happen,” said Debra Luster, Ta’Shawn’s great-aunt.

Now Ta’Shawn Burks’ family has a bit of closure.

“He would call me every day. Every day. And when he didn’t call me, I knew something must be wrong,” said Tamera Burks, Ta’Shawn’s mother.

On the night of July 11, court documents say Hassan’s “speed continually increased after he got off the interstate … as he unsuccessfully tried to make a green light at the intersection.” Court documents also show Hassan was driving 77 mph in a 25 mph zone.

“There is some kind of closure to his life because we do celebrate him in our lives,” Luster said.

But celebrating on this particular day is bittersweet, because it would have been his 32nd birthday.

“We’ll just celebrate this year in our hearts, just celebrate like he’s right here with us,” Tamera Burks said.

Like many Minnesotans, Ta’Shawn Burks loved Prince. He also enjoyed going to church with family, singing, and dancing.

“He just liked to make people happy. He wasn’t shy at all,” Tamera Burks said.

While this week’s developments into what may have happened here last summer won’t bring Ta’Shawn back, his loved ones tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it’s an important step in the healing process.

“He’s in my heart always. It’s just so hard to believe it,” Tamera Burks said.

Hassan is not currently in custody, and his next court appearance is set for May 16.