Driver found guilty in Burnsville deadly drag racing crash

Two vehicles show extreme damage after the reported drag racing crash in Burnsville. (FOX 9)

A jury has found a driver guilty in connection to a drag racing crash in Dakota County that killed two people in 2021.

Camille Dennis-Bond was found guilty on Wednesday in the third-degree murder case. This was the first of two trials in the deadly crash in Burnsville that authorities say was caused by Dennis-Bond and her brother drag racing.

The April 4, 2021, crash killed Tayler Garza, 22,and her longtime boyfriend Dalton Ford, 22.

Dennis-Bond's car wasn't directly involved in the deadly T-bone crash, but prosecutors aimed to hold her as accountable as her brother, who was just shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the incident. He has yet to go to trial. 

Dennis-Bond was also charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation.

The charges

According to the criminal complaint, at about 10:20 a.m. April 4, 2021, a white Chrysler 200, driven by a juvenile male, was traveling eastbound on County Road 42 between Burnsville Parkway and Newton Avenue in Burnsville at a high rate of speed. The driver was reportedly drag racing with a Chevy Malibu driven by his sister, Camille Dennis-Bond. 

As the two approached Newton Avenue, a Honda-CRV pulled into the left turn lane of westbound County Road 42 to cross onto Newton Avenue. The driver of the Honda was Dalton Ford and the front seat passenger was Tayler Garza.  As Ford proceeded to cross County Road 42, the suspect vehicle T-boned the Honda, causing it to split in half. 

Dennis-Bond’s vehicle, which was travelling in the left lane and slightly behind the suspect vehicle, just missed striking the Honda. Both Ford and Garza died at the scene. 

Both suspects were transported to the hospital by ambulance. 

The posted speed limit in the area of the crash is 50 mph. The crash reconstruction report concluded that the speed of the suspect vehicle was between 93 and 100 mph at point of impact.