Charges: Man accused of causing 7-vehicle crash with open bottle and driving at approximately 100 miles per hour

Court records show a man has been formally charged in connection with a seven-vehicle crash that occurred earlier this week in Minneapolis, which resulted in the death of one person.

The complaint filed Thursday says Talon Covie-Cardell Walker of St. Paul was formally charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter – driving with gross negligence.

Although Walker is listed on the prison’s website, a mugshot was not immediately available.

The document states that on Wednesday around 9:15 p.m., officers were called to the eastbound I-94 off-ramp near Lyndale Avenue in reference to a crash. The crash closed a section of eastbound I-94 just before 2 a.m. Thursday.

When troopers arrived, they found multiple vehicles “with significant damage” and “multiple people with minor to serious injuries.” As reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Thursday morningone of the victims – identified as 26-year-old Natalie Gubbay – died from her injuries at the scene.

Another person – identified in the State Patrol accident report as a 20-year-old woman from St. Paul in Walker’s vehicle – suffered serious injuries and was transported to HCMC. Neither she nor Walker were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

The complaint says Walker was driving a Chevy Avalanche on the I-94 East off-ramp toward Dunwoody Boulevard while other vehicles were traveling slowly. Walker then allegedly sideswiped another SUV and rear-ended a Jeep Cherokee, causing it to push into the back of a Ford Edge, causing three other vehicles to collide in a chain reaction.

Witnesses believed Walker was traveling at about 100 miles per hour at the time of the crash, and the force of the impact was so great that the two vehicles involved in the incident were pushed aside, according to the complaint.

Results of a blood sample taken from Walker are still pending. The complaint added that officers found a bottle of alcohol on the driver’s side floor of his vehicle, adding that it was open and partially full.

Hennepin County Jail records say Walker has a hearing on Friday at 1:30 p.m., but the court calendar does not reflect that at the time of publication.

If convicted, Walker faces 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.