Two years’ probation is being served by a pickup truck driver who disobeyed a school bus’ warning signals and nearly slammed into the big yellow vehicle that was stopped on a snowy Iron Range country road late last year.
Keith Douglas Bargel, 60, of Tower, Minn., was charged in St. Louis County District Court in April with failing to stop while passing a school bus on the passenger exit side, a gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor property damage in connection with a mailbox he took out on Dec. 20 while avoiding the collision on Hwy. 169 near Virginia.
On Wednesday, Judge Michelle Anderson dismissed the property damage count and imposed the probation under what is called a stay of adjudication. That means if he abides by the terms of the unsupervised probation, the charge will be dismissed and the conviction removed from the court record.
His probationary terms require that he remain law abiding, participate in a driver’s education course, pay restitution in an amount yet to be determined and pay $575 in fines and fees.
“I tried to stop,” Bargel told the Minnesota Star Tribune at the time he was charged, “but there was a [metal] coffee cup stuck underneath my brake pedal. I’ve driven trucks my whole life and never heard of that happening.”
He also pointed out that the pavement was somewhat slick at the time and acknowledged that he should not have had his cruise control engaged in those weather conditions.
Court records in Minnesota show that Bargel’s driving history includes three convictions for drunken driving and three for driving with a canceled or revoked license. His license was valid at the time of the close call.
According to the criminal complaint:
