Speeding Driver With Open Bottle Caused Fatal Crash in Minneapolis
via MnDOT Traffic Management Camera
A 29-year-old man is charged with criminal vehicular homicide following a high-speed crash that killed one person and injured several others Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Authorities say it occurred around 9:15 p.m. near the Lyndale Avenue exit off I-94 when Talon Covie-Cadrell Walker, of Saint Paul, was driving eastbound in a 2006 Chevy Avalanche.
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Witnesses reported Walker was traveling at approximately 100 mph when he sideswiped an SUV and struck a 2015 Jeep Cherokee, setting off a chain-reaction collision involving a total of seven vehicles.
The driver of the Jeep Cherokee, identified as 26-year-old Natalie Gubbay of Minneapolis, was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Cherokee, a 28-year-old woman, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to HCMC.
Multiple other vehicles, including a 2017 Audi Q5, 2018 Toyota RAV4 and 2021 Nissan Versa, were involved in the pileup. Several drivers and passengers, including children, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at HCMC. The passenger in Walker’s vehicle, 20-year-old Taniyah Renee Randle-Smith, suffered life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized.
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Officers found an open, partially full bottle of liquor on the driver’s side floorboard of Walker’s vehicle. Walker, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was also transported to HCMC with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators suspected alcohol involvement and blood samples were taken from Walker, but those results are pending.
A criminal complaint filed in court notes that Walker's license was previously revoked under implied consent laws in June 2021. In late 2019, Walker’s license was suspended and eventually revoked, according to reporting by the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has traffic convictions for careless driving and operating a motorcycle without a license, with previous criminal convictions for weapons possession, disorderly conduct and violating a no-contact order.
Walker was charged Thursday via warrant while still hospitalized for his injuries. Jail records indicate that Walker was taken into custody Thursday evening and is now being held at the Hennepin County Jail. If convicted of the charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
A booking photo for Walker was not immediately available.
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