x
Breaking News
More () »

Patrol: Driver putting away phone crashed into car, killed 2

Forty-three-year-old Rachel Harberts of Dodge Center was stopped on Highway 14 in Claremont on Sept. 7, waiting to turn left, when her car was struck from the rear by a Hummer.
Driver distracted by texts and emails

CLAREMONT, Minn. (AP) - Authorities say a 24-year-old Minnesota man was putting away his cellphone when he crashed into a car stopped on a highway, killing a woman and her 8-year-old daughter.

Forty-three-year-old Rachel Harberts of Dodge Center was stopped on Highway 14 in Claremont on Sept. 7, waiting to turn left, when her car was struck from the rear by a Hummer.

Harberts died Saturday at a Rochester hospital. Her daughter, Emerson Harberts, died in the crash, and her 12-year-old son, Jaxon Harberts, suffered life-threatening injuries.

The Dodge Center man who was driving the Hummer was unhurt. The Star Tribune reports he told authorities he was looking down at the console to put away his phone when he rear-ended the other car, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by the State Patrol.

Before You Leave, Check This Out