Man accused in March Jefferson City bus incident pleads guilty
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Boonville man who was charged after allegedly smashing mailboxes with a school bus containing children pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three misdemeanors.
Robert Hern, 60, was charged in March with first-degree property damage, operating a motor vehicle in a careless manner, leaving the scene of an accident and 28 counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Hern pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, leaving the scene of an accident and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanors.
He was sentenced to two years of probation with a suspended sentence of 30 days in jail. Hern also surrendered his commercial driver license privileges.
Cole County Sheriff's deputies were sent to the 3400 block of Schott Road in April after a caller said a bus intentionally hit mailboxes and drove away, Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler's office said in a March news release. The bus stopped at Tomahawk Road and Algoa Road after management ordered Hern to stop, according to a probable cause statement.
Deputies say Hern was arguing with students and told them to get off the bus before telling them to get back on when one student called First Student. Once students were back on the driver "accelerated in reverse," hitting the mailboxes, pulled forward and backed into the mailboxes again before driving away, according to the release.
