BREAKING NEWS: Driver faces felony charges in connection with Harberts crash

The driver of a Hummer that rearended into another vehicle and killed a beloved school teacher from Blooming Prairie and her young daughter has been charged with two felonies.
On Wednesday, the Dodge County Attorney’s Office filed two criminal vehicular homicide charges against Tanner Ronald Kruckeberg, 24, of Dodge Center. The charges accuse Kruckeberg of operating his vehicle in a grossly negligent manner.
The complaint filed in Dodge County District Court accuses Kruckeberg of using an online banking application on his cell phone at the time of the crash.
Kruckeberg told the State Patrol he had his cruise control set at 60 mph. He further admitted he was on his cell phone speaking to his buddy and when the call was complete, he looked down to manually hang up the call, according to the complaint.
However, a search warrant executed by the State Patrol showed Kruckeberg was using an online banking application when the crash happened.  
Rachel Harberts, 43, of Dodge Center and her 8-year-old daughter, Emerson, died as a result of the crash on U.S. Highway 14 on the east edge of Claremont Sept. 7.
Kruckeberg is scheduled to make his first court appearance Feb. 13 in Dodge County.
The DCI and Steele County Times will continue to follow this story.