Jurors on Wednesday convicted a dump truck driver for causing a multivehicle collision that killed a couple in Rosemount.

The jury deliberated for roughly 13 hours in Dakota County District Court before finding Fred T. Fonji, 49, of Roseville guilty on two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the wreck on Oct. 17, 2019, on Hwy. 55 that killed William L. Craig, 47, and Colette L. Craig, 48, of South St. Paul.

Fonji was ordered held in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail ahead of sentencing on May 19.

An analysis by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension of two cellphones seized from Fonji showed he received two incoming WhatsApp messages, one at 12:18 p.m. and the other 20 seconds later, the charges read. The analysis could not determine whether Fonji opened the messages.

A state trooper who arrived immediately after the crash noted that he showed up at 12:20 p.m. and saw the Craigs' car still "smoking" from when Fonji set off the four-vehicle crash, the criminal complaint continued.

Two days later, a woman who worked at a landfill 2 miles from the scene contacted a state trooper to say that Fonji is "always on the phone" and had been to the facility three times that day and was on his phone each time, the charges read.

According to the complaint:

A semitrailer truck was waiting to turn left from eastbound Hwy. 55 onto Doyle Path. A pickup truck and the Craigs' car were either slowing down or already stopped behind the semi. Fonji hit the pickup while traveling at least 55 mph and then struck the Craigs' car, which then hit the semi.

The Craigs were pronounced dead at the scene. Fonji and the other two drivers survived their injuries.

"The primary contributing factor to the crash was the defendant's failure to slow and/or stop for the traffic ahead of him, [and] a secondary factor could be the defendant's distraction by a cellphone," the charges read.