Kassandra Claassen Obituary, Death;- A man has entered a plea in district court regarding the April 2023 incident that resulted in the death of a teenager from Dakota County.
Chad Bundy, a 50-year-old resident of Hooper, Nebraska, faced misdemeanor charges including vehicular homicide, false reporting, and a load violation. On December 10, Bundy submitted a “no contest” plea to all three charges.
As a truck driver, Bundy was transporting a load of pipes when one of the pipes reportedly fell from his vehicle, striking the windshield of a Jeep operated by 17-year-old Kassandra Claassen, leading to her fatality. The incident occurred on the afternoon of April 27, 2023, on Highway 35 in Dakota City, Nebraska.
Christina Oliver, an investigator with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, noted in court documents that authorities obtained video footage capturing Claassen’s Jeep prior to the collision. This footage enabled law enforcement to identify a Peterbilt 330 truck that may have been involved in the incident, which was seen transporting metal pipes.
Bundy was recognized as a potential driver of the truck, and upon being contacted by Dakota County Deputies, he acknowledged operating the vehicle on the day of the accident.
Utilizing surveillance video, GPS data, and phone records, investigators established that between 3:38 p.m. and 3:43 p.m., a metal pipe fell from the truck Bundy was driving eastbound on Highway 35. During this timeframe, Bundy made a U-turn to head west on the highway for one mile before turning back east.
Oliver indicated that this evidence demonstrated Bundy passed the crash site twice without stopping. “Chad Bundy drove past the scene of the rollover vehicle accident, which resulted in the death of Kassandra R. Claassen, on two occasions and did not stop,” Oliver stated in court documents.
During interviews, Bundy claimed he turned around on the highway because he believed he had left his cellphone at a business in Dakota City. He stated that he found the cellphone on the floor of the truck before proceeding.
