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Mother of accused hit-and-run driver arrested

Diane Bakdash was arrested on charges of accessory after the fact on Monday.

Hours after Timothy Bakdash was charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of University of Minnesota student Ben Van Handel, Bakdash’s mother was also arrested in connection to the crime.

Diane Bakdash, 66, was arrested Monday night while visiting her son in jail on charges of accessory after the fact, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Police allege that she quickly signed over the title of the car Bakdash used in an intentional attempt to run over four people in Dinkytown on April 15. This allowed him to elude authorities.

Timothy Bakdash, 29, tried to run over a group of students while driving the wrong way on 5th Street Southeast, thinking it was the same group he had been fighting with at the Library Bar and Grill earlier that night, according to the original complaint.

Timothy Bakdash allegedly confessed the crime to the man who bought his dented Mitsubishi Galant. The man, referred to as “B.B.” in the complaint, bought the car for $1,500 the same day as the accident, and said he overheard Bakdash talking to his mother, who told her son to “get rid of that car that night.”

The man said Timothy Bakdash told him he had meant to hit three people in the group, and “had no remorse” for the hit-and-run. It was not clear which three victims were targeted, according to the complaint.

Van Handel, 23, was in a coma for five days after being hit by the car. He died April 21, after being taken off life support.

Timothy Bakdash is set to make his first court appearance Tuesday. Diane Bakdash’s first appearance in court is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office.

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