St. Paul man charged in Arden Hills crash that killed pediatric physician

A St. Paul man has been charged in connection with a crash in Arden Hills last week that killed a pediatric physician.

Thirty-four-year-old Norman Darnell Toney has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter.

At about 8:36 p.m. on Nov. 9, a Roseville police officer saw a dark-colored sedan weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed and in an aggressive manner, a criminal complaint states. The officer activated squad lights but the sedan’s driver sped away quickly and turned the vehicle’s lights off while on Snelling Avenue, just south of Interstate 694. The officer lost sight of the sedan.

Just minutes later, Ramsey County deputies responded to the intersection of Highway 96 West and Hamline Avenue for a crash. Deputies found the entire front end of a Toyota Camry sheared off, the engine block was hanging out of the car’s passenger side, and the vehicle’s driver had been ejected. The complaint states the victim is believed to have been wearing his seat belt but was struck with such force that it broke the seat belt buckle, causing the victim to be ejected.

The victim, identified as 40-year-old Daniel J. Schnobrich, of Arden Hills, was taken to a hospital but died a few hours later.

A deputy then saw Toney run from the intersection. He was tackled and taken into custody, the complaint states.

Witnesses told deputies Toney came out of nowhere and seemed to be high or under the influence of something.

Authorities found a completely submerged brown Cadillac SRX in a nearby pond. The complaint states its speedometer was stuck at 103 mph when it was pulled from the pond, and a black shoe was found inside that matched one that was recovered at the crash site. Toney wasn’t wearing shoes when he was arrested.

Toney was treated for minor injuries and also had a blood sample taken, pursuant to a search warrant.

A car dealer confirmed they’d sold the Cadillac to Toney about a month ago. The complaint states the company said Toney paid $1,000 upfront and was supposed to return with the rest of the purchase price and insurance information but he never did.