Woman charged with murder, criminal vehicular homicide after man hit, killed in St. Paul

A Minneapolis woman has been charged with second-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide after a 21-year-old man died Tuesday morning near downtown St. Paul.

Charges were filed against Landis Rachel Hill, 31, on Wednesday.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, at around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, a truck driver reported seeing a man lying in the street. The victim, later identified as Al Rakip J. Zaidi, had suffered severe head trauma, and emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

After reviewing surveillance video, homicide investigators found two suspects and interviewed them, police said. Police determined that Zaidi had been intentionally hit with a vehicle.

A criminal complaint details the following:

Hill told investigators she and her boyfriend were sleeping in the backseat of a Ford Expedition near Eighth and Olive streets when a man, later identified as Zaidi, opened the driver-side door and took a cellphone and cash that were on the front seat. When the couple confronted Zaidi, he reportedly threatened them and ran away with the stolen items.

Hill said she and her boyfriend chased after Zaidi in their vehicle. When they spotted him, Hill’s boyfriend reportedly got out of the vehicle to chase him on foot. Hill reportedly pursued Zaidi while driving the vehicle.

Hill allegedly struck Zaidi "with the center part of the Expedition while traveling at around 40-50 mph." She then yelled at Zaidi to return the cellphone and cash. Hill later told investigators she was tired of people stealing her things, stating she and her boyfriend had been robbed in the past. Hill said her boyfriend then got back into the Expedition and they drove away.

Hill said she was upset and that her boyfriend convinced her they should report the incident to police. The two drove to police headquarters and made a report, the complaint states.

The Ramsey County medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Zaidi and determined the cause of death was head trauma due to motor vehicle impact.

Hill was set to make her first court appearance Thursday.