Traffic cam captures moments leading up to the crash that killed former Gopher track athlete

A Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) traffic camera captured the moments leading up to the crash that killed a 25-year-old former Gopher track athlete late last month. 

Eric Walker was an accomplished and beloved student-athlete who broke track records at high school and colligate levels before graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2019 with 3.8 GPA, according to the GoFundMe page set up for his family after the Saturday, Aug. 27, crash in Bloomington. 

According to a press release from the Bloomington Police Department, the crash occurred around 5:22 p.m. after a White Land Rover driven by a 40-year-old woman from Faribault exited Highway 77 northbound and went westbound onto Old Shakopee Road. Police said witnesses told investigators the Land Rover was speeding and weaving in traffic. The video shows the driver passing another car on the right shoulder just moments before the crash. 

Walker, driving a Nissan Ultima, had just excited Highway 77 southbound and was in the process of turning left onto Old Shakopee Road when the Land Rover struck his car on the front driver’s side, according to Bloomington Police. 

First responders arrived to find Walker’s vehicle had been pushed into the median and had severe damage. Police said he was unconscious and had to be extracted from the vehicle by firefighters from the Bloomington Fire Department. He was taken by ambulance to the Hennepin County Medical Center, according to Bloomington Police.  

Three passengers in the Land Rover were also taken to the hospital with injuries, police said.

Walker died a week later from his injuries. 

On Aug. 30, Bloomington Police arrested the driver of the Land Rover on suspicion of felony criminal vehicular operation as well as two other misdemeanor traffic offenses. Police said she was released two days later. 

She has yet to be formally charged, pending a follow-up investigation and completion of crash reconstruction by traffic investigators. Police said it often takes several weeks or more for investigators to obtain all the vehicle and crash data they need to reconstruct a crash.

FOX 9 does not name suspects before they are charged. The woman has a lengthy history of traffic-related offenses, including two DWIs and convictions for driving with a cell phone, driving with broken headlights and driving with a suspended license and without proof of insurance.