Brooklyn Park bus driver charged with running over 6-year-old student
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A school bus driver in Brooklyn Park faces charges after allegedly running over a 6-year-old student, causing serious injuries, in January.
According to charges filed in Hennepin County Tuesday, a 39-year-old Minneapolis resident faces misdemeanor charges of careless driving and not moving the bus from a safe distance after dropping the student off. The bus driver also faces a charge of reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor.
On Jan. 25, charges say the bus driver let the 6-year-old boy off on the 8700 block of Edinbrook Crossing North in Brooklyn Park. The boy's jacket, however, got stuck on a light as he was exiting. The driver reversed the bus and ran the child over. The victim suffered multiple pelvic fractures, a traumatic brain injury, and other injuries.
MORE NEWS: Family still unpacking plans to move after bullet flies through Uptown Minneapolis apartment
There were other young students on the bus at the time. Witnesses told police that the driver was "consumed with yelling at other students on the bus" and didn't hear the victim trying to get their attention, the complaint said.
The bus driver initially left the scene, but police later found the bus and the driver. In speaking with the driver, officers learned that they were unaware the bus had struck the child.
The charges state that the driver had failed to complete several required training courses and "should not have been able to drive the school bus with these shortcomings." Furthermore, putting a school bus in reverse after dropping a student is against the law.
If convicted, the driver faces up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
