A Burnsville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of third-degree murder in connection with a fatal crash in April 2021, when he hit and killed two people while street racing his sister.
Man pleads guilty to killing two people in Burnsville crash while racing his sister
January 11, 2023 at 2:40AM
Leon Bond, now 19, was 17 at the time of the crash and was charged as a juvenile. He will face a Jan. 23 hearing and will receive a stayed, more serious adult sentence that will not be enforced unless he violates the terms of his juvenile disposition.
The two killed were 22-year-olds Dalton Lee Ford of Burnsville and Tayler Nicole Garza of Woodbury.
According to the criminal complaint against Bond's 20-year-old sister, Camille Dennis-Bond:
Bond was traveling east on County Road 42 in Burnsville the morning of April 4, 2021, between Burnsville Parkway and Newton Avenue in a white Chrysler 200. He was racing side-by-side with a Chevy Malibu driven by Dennis-Bond.
Ford, driving west on County Road 42 in a Honda CR-V, pulled into the left turn lane to cross over to Newton Avenue, with Garza in the front passenger seat. Bond T-boned Ford's vehicle, causing it to split in half. Ford and Garza died at the scene. Bond's sister did not strike the Honda.
Both Bond and a twin sister who was in his passenger seat were taken to the hospital with significant injuries. The twin's injuries included fractures, and she underwent surgeries and a six-week hospitalization.
A State Patrol analysis of the crash concluded that Bond's vehicle was traveling 93 to 100 miles per hour at the time of impact, and was touching 114 mph five seconds before the crash. The speed limit on that stretch is 50 mph.
Bond told law enforcement that he and his older sister were at a stoplight before the crash, where he told her he wanted to see whose car could get to 50 mph the fastest. He added that he saw the Honda before it turned, and that he accelerated to try and get around it but was unsuccessful.
The Dakota County Attorney's Office sought to try Bond in adult court but was denied.
A jury found Dennis-Bond guilty Dec. 14. She was convicted on two counts of third-degree murder, two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm, and one count of careless driving. She is set to be sentenced March 24.
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
