Garbage truck driver allegedly looking at tablet for directions before fatal crash near Raymond, Minnesota

Dale Morin, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·1 min read

Oct. 6—WILLMAR — The garbage truck driver involved in a crash that killed a Willmar woman is alleged to have been looking at a tablet computer to find the next turn on his route.

The driver of a minivan, 56-year-old Nicolasa Bernabe-Lopez, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash July 26 in rural Raymond.

Rodolfo Gomez, 47, of Atwater, has been summoned to appear Nov. 2 in Kandiyohi County District Court on three misdemeanor charges: careless driving, failure to yield and using an wireless communication device while driving. Each has a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office investigated the crash at the intersection of 60th Street and 105th Avenue Southwest, five miles east of Raymond.

According to the criminal complaint for the charges filed Tuesday, Gomez was driving a West Central Sanitation truck and told investigators he was looking at a tablet to figure out where to turn when the crash occurred.

Bernabe-Lopez was driving a 2003 Dodge Caravan westbound on 105th Avenue Southwest.

Gomez was traveling northbound on 60th Street Southwest. There is a yield sign for controlling traffic on 60th Street, according to the complaint.

Gomez said he did not see the yield sign. He was looking down at the tablet as he was new to the route, according to the complaint.

Gomez was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Toxicology reports on both Gomez and Bernabe-Lopez indicated that neither driver had alcohol or narcotics in their systems at the time of the accident, according to the complaint.