State Patrol wraps up Harberts crash

The Minnesota State Patrol has completed its investigation into the fatal car wreck that killed a beloved school teacher and her daughter during the first week of school in Dodge County.
Sgt. Troy Christianson of the State Patrol said the investigation was turned over to the Dodge County Attorney’s Office on Dec. 12 for review of charges. 
Christianson did not reveal any new details of the investigation, which took the patrol about 90 days to finish. He initially said the investigation would be completed within 60 days. 
A spokesperson for the county attorney’s office said Friday no decision had yet been made about charges and offered no time line of when a decision would be coming. 
Rachel Harberts, 43, of Dodge Center and her daughter, Emerson, 8, were killed in the Sept. 7 crash on U.S. Highway 14 on the east edge of Claremont. Harberts’ son, Jaxon, 12, survived and is recovering after being critically injured in the crash. 
Rachel was a first grade teacher at Blooming Prairie Elementary where Emerson was in third grade. Jaxon is in seventh grade at Blooming Prairie High School. 
A 2008 Hummer H3 driven by Tanner Ronald Kruckeberg, 24, of Dodge Center, ran into the rearend of the Harberts vehicle as it was stopped waiting to make a left hand turn off Highway 14 shortly after 7 a.m. on Sept. 7, the fourth day of the new school year. 
Previously released court documents show distracted driving appears to have played a major role in the crash. In a search warrant filed with the court, the state patrol stated, “the driver of the Hummer admitted he was looking down at his center counsel area to put away his cellular phone.” 
The lead investigator of the crash was Sgt. K.J. McGraw, who has extensive experience in crash reconstruction.