BREAKING NEWS: Suspect in Harberts crash appears in court

The man accused of being distracted with a cell phone when he crashed into a vehicle carrying a beloved school teacher from Blooming Prairie and her children made his first court appearance Wednesday in Dodge County.
Tanner Kruckeberg, 24, of Dodge Center was released without bail, but must abide by a variety of different conditions imposed by the court.
Kruckeberg is set to appear again in court on May 1.
He is accused of killing Rachel Harberts and her daughter, Emerson, back in September as they were headed to school. Rachel’s son, Jaxon, survived the crash. Kruckeberg faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash.
Authorities allege Kruckeberg was using an online banking app at the time of the crash. He told investigators he was on his cell phone speaking to a buddy and when the call was complete, he looked down to manually hang up the call.
The DCI and Times will continue to follow this story through Kruckeberg’s upcoming court appearances.