Driver in I-94 Rollover That Severely Injured Passenger Now Facing Felony

May 5

A Saint Paul man has been charged with felony criminal vehicular operation after a high-speed crash on I-94 in Washington County left another man with severe, life-threatening injuries.

According to a criminal complaint filed May 1 in Washington County, 36-year-old David Walker Vail was driving a maroon Ford F-150 on the evening of Aug. 14, 2024.

Vail crashed the truck and rolled multiple times after entering eastbound I-94 from Highway 95 near Lakeland.

Minnesota State Patrol troopers responded to the scene around 7:14 p.m. and found debris scattered across the left shoulder and lane. The truck had come to rest facing the median, showing extensive damage on all sides, with the roof caved in and significant passenger-side destruction.

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Two people had been ejected from the vehicle. One of them, later identified as Vail, was found lying in the roadway in front of the truck. A bystander was rendering aid. The second occupant, described in reports as an adult male, was found on the passenger side of the vehicle with a severe head wound and other injuries. He was drifting in and out of consciousness. Emergency crews transported both men to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Initial concerns from paramedics at the crash site indicated they were unable to locate a pulse on the second man, prompting fears he had died at the scene. He ultimately survived, but with extensive trauma. Medical reports detailed a depressed skull fracture, multiple rib and vertebral fractures, a shoulder blade fracture, a collapsed lung, severe blood loss, and a splenic laceration requiring surgical removal of the organ. He also sustained intracranial bleeding in multiple parts of the brain.

Witnesses told responding troopers that they observed the F-150 traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour as it merged onto I-94. Dash camera video provided by one witness showed the truck swerving abruptly across all lanes before slamming into the concrete median and rolling. Another witness said the vehicle turned “hard” into the barrier at high speed.

At the hospital, troopers interviewed Vail, who admitted he had been driving. One trooper detected the odor of alcohol on his breath. Vail admitted to having “a couple of beers” earlier in the day, but could not specify the type or timing. He refused to cooperate with a preliminary breath test at the hospital, prompting troopers to obtain a search warrant for a blood draw.

The test, conducted at 9:30 p.m.—just over two hours after the crash—showed Vail’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.132, well above the legal limit of 0.08.

Troopers at the crash scene noted an empty 750 mL bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey on the driver’s seat. Tire marks at the entrance ramp showed the truck veering sharply from the right shoulder across the entire highway before impacting the median. Scrape marks and gouges on the concrete barrier matched the vehicle’s paint. A fiberglass truck bed cover was found 10 feet from the initial impact point.

Neither occupant of the truck was wearing a seat belt, according to investigators.

Vail is charged with one count of criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm while having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

He was charged via summons and is expected to make an initial court appearance in July.

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