Faribault tractor-trailer accident: Driver charged with death of unborn child and other injuries

FARIBAULT, Minn. (FOX 9) – A semi-truck driver is facing criminal charges for a six-vehicle crash last year that left a pregnant woman losing her unborn child and eight other people injured in 2023.

That driver, Joel Adam Sassman, 52, of Fredericksburg, Iowa, is charged with the death of an unborn child and eight counts of criminal vehicular use causing bodily harm.

READ MORE: 6 vehicles involved in crash along I-35 in Faribault

What happened?

Rice County Sheriff's Office deputies and Minnesota State Patrol troopers responded to reports of an accident in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 near mile marker 53 at approximately 12:20 p.m. on August 20, 2023.

The criminal complaint states the accident occurred when a semi-truck rear-ended a Chevy Suburban that was pushed into a Ford Escape, which was pushed into a Honda Accord. The Accord then ended up in the ditch and the Escape continued to move forward until it was pushed into a Volvo SUV, which spun and struck a second Ford Escape.

A woman in the Suburban was 31 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash and suffered life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull and brain bleeding, according to the criminal complaint. She was flown to the hospital.

Doctors performed an emergency cesarean section, but the baby did not survive. A medical examination revealed that the baby died as a result of blunt force trauma in the accident.

Several other people were injured in the accident, including three small children who were in the Suburban.

A witness whose vehicle was struck in the accident told a Minnesota state trooper that he could see traffic slowing from about 1,000 feet away and that construction signs indicated traffic about three to three miles from the scene of the accident had indicated to slow down.

Investigation

The criminal complaint states that Sassman told a police officer, “Everything just stopped.” When the officer asked him to elaborate, Sassman allegedly said, “Everything just stopped and I ran into the back of the car.”

Investigators then searched Sassman's cell phone and found that in the two hours he was driving before the accident, Sassman “sent eight sex chats, conducted multiple searches on the Adult Friend Finder Network, Cams.com's live sex chat.” “Visited and DM'd a woman.” Instagram received a Snapchat labeled “B——” and changed the orientation of his phone to landscape five times.”

Investigators then obtained a search warrant for Sassman's Friend Finder accounts and discovered that a message was sent two minutes before the crash.

The criminal complaint states that an accident reconstruction specialist determined that the cause of the accident was Sassman's failure to recognize and respond in a timely manner to slowed traffic on the road.

What's next?

Sassman's first appearance is scheduled for the afternoon of Dec. 18 in Rice County.