Man with suspended license admits causing high-speed crash that killed Twin Cities doctor

A St. Paul man accused of driving with a suspended license at speeds of more than 100 mph has admitted that he caused a two-vehicle crash that killed a doctor going to work at a Twin Cities hospital.

Norman D. Toney, 34, of St. Paul, agreed in Ramsey County District Court last week to plead guilty to criminal vehicular homicide, gross negligence, in connection with the collision on Nov. 9, 2021, that killed Dr. Daniel Schnobrich, 40, of Arden Hills.

The plea agreement reached between prosecutors and the defense includes dismissal of a charge of fleeing police and a criminal vehicular homicide count alleging illicit drug use. The agreement indicates that the County Attorney's Office will seek a 10-year sentence for Toney.

Toney was driving while his license was suspended, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Along with this case, his criminal history in Minnesota includes two convictions for drunken driving, three for driving after his license was revoked and one for speeding.

Schnobrich was heading from his Arden Hills home to M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center for the night shift when Toney's speeding SUV hit his car with such force that it shredded the doctor's car. Schnobrich, a pediatric and palliative care doctor who taught at the U's School of Medicine, died less than five hours later.

At the time of the crash, Schnobrich was employed at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital and was an associate professor at the U's Medical School.

Schnobrich graduated from Waconia High School in 1999 as a National Merit Scholar, studied biochemistry at Iowa State University, attended University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Minnesota.

According to the charges:

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched about 8:40 p.m. to W. Hwy. 96 and Hamline Avenue, where they saw Schnobrich's car, with its driver's door sheared off and the "engine block hanging out of the passenger side," the charges read. Schnobrich had his seat belt on, but his car "was struck with such force that the seat belt buckle broke, causing him to be ejected," the complaint continued.

One of the deputies saw Toney running from the intersection toward a pond and tackled him.

A woman driving nearby said she saw a car speeding past her on Hamline toward Hwy. 96 before hearing a loud boom. Toney's car landed on its roof and submerged in the pond. The car was towed out of the pond; its speedometer was stuck at 103 mph.

Minutes before the crash, a police officer in Roseville spotted Toney's car weaving through traffic on northbound Snelling Avenue and estimated its speed at 95 mph.