Brianna Johnson charged by warrant in Pine County school bus incident
WILLOW RIVER, Minn. — Authorities have identified and charged a motorist they believe nearly hit students exiting a school bus in Pine County last month.
According to the Pine County Attorney's Office, 28-year-old Brianna Johnson of Willow River is charged with failing to stop for a school bus and reckless driving in connection to the Dec. 21, 2023 incident. She has not been located, so she is charged by warrant.
Video footage from the school bus shows a motorist in a 1994 Ford Ranger pass a van on the shoulder before driving past the bus that had its stop sign out. A couple of students were exiting at the time, and one had to run to get out of the way of the truck.
The criminal complaint states the van driver attempted to follow the truck driver, but later determined it was too dangerous to follow due to the speed of the truck.
Authorities were able to locate the suspect vehicle outside a residence in Willow River, but the residents of the home said they'd never seen the vehicle before and were planning on having it towed.
During the investigation, law enforcement determined the Ranger's registration was expired and the registered owner was deceased.
A lottery ticket was found inside the pickup and authorities used the information to locate the man who purchased the ticket in Sturgeon Lake on Dec. 15, the complaint said. The man claimed he acquired the truck from a friend a while back and then sold it on Facebook Marketplace two to three days before the incident. However, surveillance footage showed the man driving the vehicle on the day of the incident.
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According to the complaint, the man told authorities that he lied about selling the Ranger because he was scared of Johnson's romantic partner "attempting revenge." He said Johnson borrowed his truck to go to the store, but never returned it.
Officials say a recent booking photo of Johnson is consistent with witnesses' description of the Ranger's driver.