On July 8th, 2023 Emily and John Gerding were involved in a horrific vehicle collision. Their van was hit at an extremely high rate of speed by a vehicle that was allegedly fleeing a simple traffic ticket.

The Robbinsdale police, Robbinsdale Fire Department, West Metro Fire District, and North Memorial ambulance crews did everything they could on the scene, but Emily's life was tragically lost. John remains hospitalized in critical condition with significant injuries. He's medically stable now but has a very long and difficult road ahead for recovery. Updates are added to his CaringBridge site as family are able to do so.

Their two wonderful daughters, Emelia (6) and Eleanor (almost 3), thankfully were not in the vehicle at the time of the collision. Emelia and Eleanor are currently being cared for by close family.

The family is facing significant expenses for Emily's funeral, John's ongoing medical care, and looking toward their girls' future. All donations will go to John and their girls.

John and Emily (née Darmer) worked as special education teachers at a local middle school. They were about to celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary in August. Emily would have celebrated her 35th birthday later this month. She was busy planning the party for Eleanor's upcoming 3rd birthday this month as well.

John's CaringBridge site has information on his recovery: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johngerding

This GoFundMe was set up by Luke Pherson, married to Samantha Pherson (Darmer) - Emily's sister and John's sister-in-law. It is also being administrated by Maria King (Gerding) - John's sister and Emily's sister-in-law.