Man was driving 100 mph, had an open bottle during crash that killed 1, injured 9 others, charges say
MINNEAPOLIS — A 29-year-old St. Paul man had an open bottle and was driving more than 100 mph when he crashed Wednesday near downtown Minneapolis, killing a woman and injuring several others, charges say.
Talon Walker was charged Thursday in Hennepin County with one count of criminal vehicular homicide in the crash, which happened around 9:15 p.m. along the exit ramp from Interstate 94 east near Lyndale Avenue.
Charges say Walker was driving a Chevy Avalanche, heading towards Dunwoody Boulevard when he sideswiped an SUV and crashed into the back of a Jeep Cherokee. The Jeep then pushed into the back of another vehicle, triggering a chain reaction involving three other cars.
Witnesses said Walker was driving at approximately 100 mph at the time of the crash, documents say. His passenger, a 20-year-old woman from St. Paul, suffered life-threatening injuries, investigators said.
The driver of the Jeep was identified as Natalie Gubbay, a 2020 graduate of Colorado College who worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She had a 28-year-old passenger with her in the Jeep, who suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The state patrol said there were six other victims, ranging in age from 2 to 62, who suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Charges say there was an open, partially full bottle of liquor on the driver's side floorboard of Walker's car. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and documents say he had a blood draw performed on him. The results are pending.
Court records indicate Walker had a revoked license and previous convictions for careless driving and driving with an open bottle and a controlled substance. He was charged with a warrant and documents say he is considered a danger to public safety.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis released a statement after Gubbay's death, which read:
Natalie was an exceptional young person as well as a promising research associate and data scientist. In her time at the Minneapolis Fed, Natalie coauthored groundbreaking work on the economy and taught others how to navigate complex data. Notably, she joined colleagues from around the Bank to advance our understanding of incomes in Native Areas. She was articulate, kind, and meticulous in her work. As colleagues and friends, we appreciated her quiet wit and her love of the outdoors. She was planning a career in quantitative social science, and we have lost a creative and caring scholar. We mourn the loss of her bright future, and we are thankful for the time we had with her.
