A onetime University of Minnesota track standout has died a week after colliding at a Bloomington intersection with a speeding, erratic driver who fled the scene before her capture three days later, officials said Tuesday.
Former Gophers track standout dies after crash in Bloomington
The surviving driver was speeding and weaving on the road, witnesses told police, and she was arrested three days later.
September 6, 2022 at 11:07PM
Eric Walker suffered serious injuries in the crash late in the afternoon Aug. 27 at Hwy. 77 and Old Shakopee Road, and he died on Saturday at HCMC, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
Walker, 25, was a sprinter for the U from 2016 until 2019, when he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten. His time of 7.99 seconds in the indoor 60-meter hurdles is the school's third-fastest all-time.
After graduating, he stayed in the Twin Cities and was hired by UnitedHealth Group.
"Eric was a great young man who impacted people wherever he went," said Gophers Director of Track and Field Matt Bingle. "I cannot think of many better people on this Earth than Eric. He represented the University of Minnesota the right way, every day. He will be missed. It is a very sad day for our program."
Police said the other driver, Loury Ouk, 40, of Apple Valley, was taken by ambulance from the scene to a nearby hospital and then released, Deputy Police Chief Kimberly Clauson said.
Bloomington investigators found Ouk at a home in Faribault, Minn., on Aug. 30 and arrested her. Police said she was released from jail on Sept. 1 with charges pending as further investigation continues.
Ouk's criminal history in Minnesota includes three convictions for drunken driving and two for driving after her license was canceled.
According to police:
Ouk exited Hwy. 77, heading west on Old Shakopee Road, and hit the front of Walker's car.
Emergency responders removed the unconscious Walker from his car. Ouk and her two passengers all required medical attention but survived the crash.
Witnesses told Bloomington investigators that the SUV "was traveling at a high rate of speed [and] weaving in traffic on Hwy. 77 to Old Shakopee Road," a police statement read. Highway traffic cameras confirmed the witnesses' accounts.
