Driver was on phone, hit the brakes just 1 second before crashing into Minnesota deputy, charges say
The driver, a 63-year-old woman from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is charged with criminal vehicular operation in connection to the crash on the afternoon of April 13, 2025.
According to the criminal complaint filed last last month, she collided with Waldner's squad car on Interstate 90 in Dewald Township, just west of Worthington near the Iowa border.
Waldner was at the scene to assist a Minnesota State Patrol trooper in a reconstruction of another crash on the interstate and was parked at the time with his emergency lights activated.
The suspect denied being on her cellphone or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the complaint notes, and said she "kept braking, kept braking" before the crash.
Another trooper who interviewed the suspect said while inspecting her cellphone, which she voluntarily handed over, a text message between her and a friend "revealed that [she] had been involved in other crashes in Sioux Falls," the complaint states.
Further investigation of her phone, and her vehicle's airbag control module, determined she had indeed been in the middle of a call during the crash, driving at speeds around 83 mph and braking just one second before impact, according to the complaint. Investigators were unable to determine whether she was holding her phone at the time or using Bluetooth.
Waldner, of Worthington, suffered "a severe traumatic brain injury and suffered multiple strokes as well as hemorrhaging on his brain," the complaint states.
He is still recovering from his injuries, according to his CaringBridge account, making "slow but steady progress physically, and in his ability to speak."
A fund has been established for Waldner and his family at Worthington's 1st State Bank Southwest, as well as an account through the Law Enforcement Labor Services' Benevolent Fund.
The suspect's first court appearance is scheduled for Monday morning. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.Cole Premo
contributed to this report.
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