Dodge Center Man, 24, Charged In Double Fatal Crash

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 24-year-old Dodge Center man faces charges after police say he was using his cellphone when he crashed into a stopped car, killing a 43-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter.

Tanner Kruckeberg, of Dodge Center, has been charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide following a September crash in Dodge County. According to the criminal complaint, Kruckeberg was using an online banking application on his phone at the time of the Sept. 7 crash.

Rachel Harberts was driving with her two children on Highway 14 in Claremont when a Hummer, driven by Kruckeberg, slammed into the back of her car.

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Emerson Harberts, 8, died instantly. Rachel Harberts was taken off life support and died on Sept. 15. Jaxon, her 12-year-old son, was hospitalized.

Court documents say Kruckeberg told investigators he had his cruise control set at 60 mph while traveling west on Highway 14. Police say he also admitted he was on his cellphone speaking with a friend and when the call was over, he looked down to manually hang up the call.

According to the criminal complaint, Kruckeberg's driving record shows more than a dozen convictions, including numerous speeding offenses.

Kruckeberg is set to make his first court appearance on Feb. 13.