A Stearns County judge has found a 48-year-old Indiana man guilty of two felonies in the deaths of a Holdingford, Minn., woman and her unborn child in December 2018.
Casey Myers and her son Simon were killed when Corey W. Planck ran a stop sign at a four-way stop at Stearns County roads 4 and 133 in LeSauk Township. Myers was on her way to work at CentraCare, where she split time between the pediatric and adult rehabilitation departments.
Planck, of Star City, Ind., was headed to Amery, Wis., after unloading cargo in St. Joseph. He was listening to GPS through an ear piece and was on the phone with his supervisor when he missed the yellow warning sign, directional signs and the red stop sign, according to court documents.
Planck told police he didn't see the stop sign, and a crash reconstruction showed Planck didn't brake until he was in the intersection. Investigators found transponders mounted to Planck's window just right of the centerline, as well as illegal window tint. His logs reported 108 hours of downtime when there should have been 144, according to court documents.
Planck was charged in August 2019. He pleaded not guilty in January 2020 and waived his right to a jury trial. On July 19, Judge Nathaniel Welte convicted Planck on one count of criminal vehicular homicide for operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner and one count of criminal vehicular operation relating in the death of an unborn child.
Welte ruled the sole cause of the crash was distracted driving. Planck's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Myers' parents, Pattie and Jeff Gunderson of Avon, said Wednesday the verdict brings relief, but added they're not sure anything will ever bring closure.
"Nothing will ever be the same again," Jeff Gunderson said.