An Ellsworth man accused of obstructing the apprehension of his granddaughter following a fatal crash in rural Saline County this past summer appeared in Saline County District Court Monday afternoon.

Back on Saturday, August 16th, 78-year-old Dennis Katzenmeier was arrested. He is a co-defendant in the case which involves the fatal crash on August 8th.

Katzenmeier is facing a felony charge of obstructing apprehension or prosecution. If convicted he faces a penalty of between 7 and 23 months in jail, and fine of up to $100,000.

Katzenmeier, who is out of jail on bond, appeared before Judge Amy Norton via video alongside his attorney, for a status update on the case. Both sides are continuing to gather more information as part of the pre-trial process. A January date was set for his next court appearance.

Katzenmeier is the grandfather of 32-year-old Kayla Errebo, who lives in the Ellsworth County Community of Lorraine. She was taken into custody on Friday, August, 8th, several hours after a collision in Saline County near the intersection of South Reese Road and K-140 Highway.

According to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, at around 5:35 am that morning a Chevrolet truck was traveling east on K-140 and was struck by Errebo’s westbound Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The crash killed 55-year-old Deanna Sommerfeld of Brookville. 61-year-old Mark Sommerfeld of Brookville suffered serious but non-life -threatening injuries.

Errebo suffered minor injuries and left the scene. She was later located at an address in Ellsworth and arrested at around 8:26am.

Errebo was previously arrested at least twice in 2024 for alleged driving while intoxicated, including once after crashing into a tree.

She is not facing a DUI charge in connection with the fatal crash, but was initially arrested on two felony and four misdemeanor charges which include: