Unlicensed driver gets 5 months in prison for fatally striking Burnsville priest

A Minneapolis man has been sentenced in connection with a 2021 crash that killed a Burnsville priest.

The Dakota County Attorney's Office said 28-year-old Trejean Derrell Curry has been sentenced to five months in jail. He will also serve no more than five years of probation and 40 hours of community work service.

Curry previously pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in the Oct. 25, 2021 Rosemount crash that killed Father Dennis "Denny" Dempsey .

Dempsey, 73, of the Church of the Risen Savior, served as a Catholic priest for 41 years.

According to the criminal complaint , officers went to the scene of the crash at 3:30 p.m., where they found Dempsey unresponsive in a ditch on the north side of County Road 42 near W. 145th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police found a sedan that was involved in the crash had smashed a windshield, charges said. The driver, identified as Curry, told police he didn't have a license with him.

Investigators later learned his license had been revoked.

Curry told police he was driving in the right lane when the bicyclist swerved out in front of him and he couldn't switch lanes nor slam on his brakes because there were other vehicles around him, according to the complaint.

Following the completion of a crash reconstruction by the Minnesota State Patrol, it found that the sedan and bike were both traveling westbound on the north shoulder of County Road 42 at the time of the crash. Two tire skid marks from the sedan were found prior to the point of impact, with the State Patrol finding both the skid marks and the point of impact were on the shoulder, to the right of the solid white line.

Curry's phone was later analyzed by law enforcement, according to the complaint. The analysis found that the screen was on and a music application was in use leading up to the crash.

Following the crash, Current sent a text that read, "Just got in a accident biker got in the way."

Court records show Curry has a criminal history that includes several traffic violations, including several convictions of driving after his license was revoked.

“Father Dempsey’s death serves as yet another tragic and painful reminder as to why it’s so extremely important for drivers to give their full attention to the road when they get behind the wheel,” Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena said in a statement.