Man sentenced in fatal distracted driving case; Accident claimed the lives of Blooming Prairie teacher and her daughter
Published 4:28 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2019
A Dodge Center man involved in a September 2018 accident that killed a Blooming Prairie Elementary School teacher and her daughter was sentenced on Wednesday in Dodge County District Court.
Tanner Ronald Kruckeberg, 25, received a staggered sentence of 180 days in the Steele County Jail, to be served as work release in 30-day increments every year from 2019-2024, for felony criminal vehicular homicide — operate motor vehicle in grossly negligent manner. In addition, he must spend 150 days in jail, also to be served in staggered 30-day increments, from 2025-2029, though those may be waived upon written permission of the court if he is found to be in compliance with his probation terms.
Tanner Ronald Kruckeberg, 25
A second charge of felony criminal vehicular homicide – operate motor vehicle in grossly negligent manner – was dismissed as part of a plea agreement reached on Sept. 5.
Judge Jodi Williamson issued the sentence.
Court documents state that Dodge County deputies were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash with injuries on Sept. 7, 2018, on Highway 14 and Dodge County Road 3 in Claremont. Upon arrival, law enforcement observed a Hummer had rear-ended a Mercury Milan, causing the vehicles to block the eastbound lane of Highway 14.
The driver of the Mercury Milan, Blooming Prairie Elementary School teacher Rachel Harberts, 43, and her son, Jaxon, 12, were unconscious in the front seat. Harberts’ daughter, Emerson, 8, was in the back seat and pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses were able to remove Jaxon from the front seat and he was transported to Mayo Clinic via North Memorial Air. Harberts was transported to Mayo Clinic via Mayo One.
A Minnesota State Trooper spoke to the driver of the Hummer, Kruckeberg, who was uninjured. Kruckeberg said he had cruise control set on 60 miles per hour while traveling west on Highway 14. He admitted that he was on his cellphone speaking to a friend and when he finished, he looked down to manually hang up. When he looked up, the Mercury was right in front of him. He said he did not recall seeing the Mercury stopped with its left turn signal on.
Jeremy Post, brother of the late Rachel Harberts and uncle to the late Emerson Harberts goes through security metal detectors at the Dodge County Courthouse to hear the sentencing of Tanner Kruckeberg. Hannah Yang/hannah.yang@austindailyherald.com
Law enforcement did not observe any pre-impact skid marks to indicate Kruckeberg had tried to brake hard before the collision.
Police obtained a search warrant for Kruckeberg’s cellphone and found that Kruckeberg was using an online banking application at the time of the accident.
Harberts died from her injuries on Sept. 15, 2018. Jaxon survived the crash.
A review of Kruckeberg’s record shows multiple prior citations for speeding, two citations for driving after suspension of his license, and a citation in Olmsted County for texting while driving.
In addition to jail time, Kruckeberg must spend 10 years on probation, perform 100 hours of community service via educating the public and students about the impact of distracted driving, follow 21 conditions and pay $1,080 in fines. Failure to follow the conditions could result in 57 months in prison.
