With the fourth anniversary recently of the dreadful, distracted driving accident involving Chuck and Cassy Maurer in 2015, Minnesota has finally enacted a new law to help curb and/or eliminate these types of deadly crashes on Minnesota’s roadways.

Distracted or inattentive driving has become a menace on America’s roads since the inception of the  cellular phone and the Maurer family of Becker, unfortunately has been victim to the untethered behavior — until now.

Chuck (54) and Cassy Maurer (10), along with two other passengers — 15-year-olds Alenita Maurer and Alora Nelson — were travelling north on Co. Rd. 11 on July 15 of 2015 when they approached Hwy. 10. Stopping for the light, little did they know how two lives would end and two others changed in a matter of moments.

Barreling easterly down Hwy. 10 was a truckload of youngsters traveling at 65+ MPH. Behind the wheel was Carlee Bollig, 17 of Little Falls and her passengers were Bollig’s boyfriend, Deven M. Garlock, 19, George E. Saldana, 18 and Caysi J. Jaronske, 17.

Bollig not only had her hand on the steering wheel, but she also had a hand on her cellphone and her eyes on the screen of the device. As the light on Hwy. 10 turned red and vehicles from the south on Co. Rd. 11 began crossing the highway, Bollig ignored the pleas from her passengers to put down her phone.

Just as Bollig’s pickup was about to enter the intersection, someone in the truck yelled, “red light, red light!”

Two vehicles made it across the road before Maurer’s van was caught in the crosshairs of Bollig’s negligence. Without touching the brakes, Bollig’s vehicle smashed violently into Maurer’s driver’s side, t-boning it and pushing the van across the pavement until it mangled to a halt with the help of a  seven-foot high, 220-lb. stop light.

Following the crash, Bollig lied to authorities, saying she was a passenger and placing the blame on her then, boyfriend. However, Garlock revealed the truth and eventually Bollig came clean hours later. 

Analysis of Bollig’s cellphone found that she sent and received “multiple electronic messages” on Facebook for eight minutes leading up to the crash and her passenger, Caysi Jaronske said Bollig yelled at her and the others when they begged her to get off her phone “at least eight or nine times”.

“F—- off,” was what Bollig told her friends, saying, she “didn’t care if she crashed.”

Charles Maurer was pronounced dead at the scene that night. Cassy, who would have been a fifth-grader at Becker School, died 10 days later.

Alenita and Alora sustained non-life threatening injuries in the crash.

Chuck’s mom, Connie Maurer, told the Citizen-Tribune that Chuck’s thoughtfulness may have saved Alenita and Alora’s lives leading up to the accident.

“Chuck was always a handyman, always diddling with something,” Connie said. “Before the accident, Chuck had moved the middle seat to the back of the van to accommodate the older girls. That action probably saved their lives or at least reduced their injuries.”

Getting Word

Connie, who had been on a trip up north at the time of the accident, first got word of the tragedy at around 9 p.m. that night from one of her nine children. Her youngest, Bill, made the trip to pick her up and bring her home to face the calamity.

“We kept saying to each other, ‘what happened?”, she said. “We were just numb from it all and there was a lot of comforting.”

Connie, who at the time lived in Coon Rapids but now lives in Big Lake, is relieved and excited to see that the state has finally enacted a law that could help save many lives.

“It’s something they really had to do and I’m glad they have decided to correct it,” she said. “We’ve allowed this to go on for too long now and I’m just glad the bill went through.”

Rhonda Maurer, Chuck’s niece, formed the Minnesotans Fighting Distracted Driving organization soon after the accident and began campaigning for stiffer laws and penalties for distracted drivers. Her efforts — and the efforts of others — was instrumental in Minnesota sanctioning this new law. The MFDD has worked with local police departments and state legislators to bring awareness to accidents and deaths caused by distracted driving.

Changes Made

As of today, Minnesota’s law features a $50 fine for the first distracted driving offense and an additional $225 for second and subsequent violations. For accidents involving a distracted driver, the punishment could range anywhere from 90 days to a year in jail and fines from $1,000 to $3,000.

Currently, 46 states ban texting while driving and 14 ban talking on a hand-held cell phone, including Minnesota as of Aug. 1. 

Bollig plead guilty in February of 2016 in District Court to texting and two counts of criminal-vehicular homicide. The judge sentenced her to probation until she reached 21 years old as long as she didn’t violate that condition. As part of her probation, Bollig was required to complete 240 hours of community service, with 10 percent of that dedicated to developing curriculum on safe driving and speaking to young drivers.

However, in  April of 2017, she tested positive for drugs and went on the run for more than a month. She refused a directive by her probation officer to surrender, but was ultimately caught during a June 1 traffic stop in Maple Grove.

She gave Maple Grove Police a false name and when she was asked to step out of the vehicle she had a syringe on her lap, court documents stated. She also admitted to police there was a controlled substance in the vehicle.

Bollig waived her right to a contested hearing  June 13 before Judge Thomas Hayes and admitted to three probation violations. More specifically, she admitted to knowingly using heroin while on probation and to the other probation violations brought against her in court.

After the sentencing, Bollig was sent directly to Woodland Hills, a juvenile justice and help facility in Duluth. She completed the program and was given credit for her time there from March 24, 2016, to Dec. 9, 2016. She also received credit for 14 days spent at Lino Lakes from June 1-14 of 2017.

As of today, reports show she is serving four more years in prison and is currently pregnant.

Moving On

Connie Maurer said when she lived at Margaret’s Place in Coon Rapids, a terrible storm rolled in and uprooted a pine tree outside her resident building.

“I remember telling myself, ‘hello Chuck’, when I saw that tree fall over.”

As a tribute to Connie, the staff at the apartment complex decided to plant a new tree in honor of Chuck and now call the crabtree, Chuck’s tree.

“I had a curl from Chuck’s head when he was born in ‘61 and I had that planted in the hole before they dropped the new tree in there,” Connie said.

On the one-year anniversary of Chuck and Cassy’s death, Rhonda Maurer helped organize a balloon release at Becker City Park as a sign of remembrance. Family and friends brought balloons — pink balloons for Cassy, and blue and orange balloons for both Chuck and Cassy, who loved the Denver Broncos. Also attending the event were officers from the Becker Police Dept., Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota State Patrol.

“My end goal is to get the legislation and change the laws and penalties,” Rhonda said at the event three years ago. “The penalties don’t match the consequences.”

Hopefully with the passing of Minnesota’s new stricter distracted driving laws, now they do.