Drunk speeding driver gets 10 years for fatal multivehicle collision on I-94 ramp in Minneapolis

A prison term of 10 years was given to a man who was drunk and unlicensed when he caused a high-speed crash in Minneapolis that killed one person and injured others.

Talon Covie-Cadrell Walker, 30, of St. Paul was sentenced Thursday in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the multivehicle collision on Oct. 23, 2024, near Interstate 94 and Lyndale Avenue.

The crash killed Natalie Gubbay, a 26-year-old SUV driver from Minneapolis.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Walker is expected to serve about six years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.

“A sequence of poor choices and complete disregard for others took Natalie from her loved ones,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “There are plenty of options to get home safe. Dangerous driving is a choice.”

Walker was “pushing 100 mph when taking the ramp” from I-94 to Lyndale, and “it appears no braking took place before the crash,” read a search warrant affidavit filed in court by the State Patrol that cleared the way for his blood to be collected to measure his degree of intoxication.

Test results showed that Walker’s blood alcohol content soon after the crash was 0.093%, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota. Testing also revealed the presence of marijuana and fentanyl.

A law enforcement search of his SUV turned up an empty bottle of Fireball whiskey, the affidavit read.

Walker was driving without a valid license, according to the state Department of Public Safety. In November 2019, his license was suspended, then revoked in April 2021, the agency said.

Court records in Minnesota show Walker has traffic convictions for careless driving and operating a motorcycle without a license. State records also show convictions for illegal weapons possession, disorderly conduct, a minor drug offense and twice violating a court no-contact order.

Walker’s passenger, 21-year-old Taniyah Randle-Smith, was taken by ambulance to HCMC with severe injuries, according to the patrol.

Gubbay’s passenger, Molly Elizabeth Brenton, 29, of Virginia, Minn., was taken to HCMC with injuries that were not life threatening.