FARIBAULT, Minn. — An Iowa man is facing multiple felonies after a rear-end crash that left multiple people hurt on I-35, and an unborn baby dead last August. Authorities accuse the semi driver of visiting sex websites during his drive that day, and sending a message two minutes before the crash occurred.
Joel Adam Sassmann, 52, was charged for causing the August 2023 crash in Rice County. At about 12:20 p.m. cars on the interstate were slowed down for construction. Officials said Sassmann, driving a semi, drove into the slowed cars causing a chain reaction of crashes involving five vehicles.
According to the criminal complaint, the first vehicle hit had two passengers in the front seats and three young children in the back seats. The front passenger was 31 weeks pregnant and suffered life-threatening injuries. The baby died at the hospital as a result of the crash.
When an officer saw Sassmann's phone, court documents state there was a "semi nude photo of a female" on the screen. When his phone was examined, it was found he had visited a sex chat website and sent multiple messages while driving that day. The criminal complaint states that the last message was sent two minutes before the crash.
Authorities say there were signs alerting drivers of construction starting 9.75 miles ahead of when lanes merged, among other construction warning signs. The weather that day was also clear and dry. After the crash Sassmann told a trooper "everything just stopped," the criminal complaint states.
Sassmann's first court appearance is scheduled for December.
