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No charges in fatal St. Paul crash between bus, bicyclist

Two witnesses told investigators that the bus driver had the right of way when the collision occurred, a St. Paul police spokesman said.

May 26, 2018 at 1:18AM
According to St. Paul Police the school bus belonging to First Student was transporting students from St. Paul Ramsey Middle School when it struck and killed an adult male bicyclist. None of the students, nor the driver of the bus was injured.
According to St. Paul Police the school bus belonging to First Student was transporting students from St. Paul Ramsey Middle School when it struck and killed an adult male bicyclist. None of the students, nor the driver of the bus was injured. (Mark Vancleave/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The school bus driver who struck and killed a bicyclist in St. Paul earlier this month will not face charges.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office issued a statement Friday announcing that it will not charge Leland W. Jacobs in the May 9 death of Alan D. Grahn.

"Based on the facts presented to us by the St. Paul Police Department, we have determined that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver operated the bus in a grossly negligent manner, which is the legal standard required to bring a felony level criminal charge," said county attorney spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein.

Police spokesman Steve Linders said that two witnesses told investigators that Jacobs had the right of way when the collision occurred.

"According to witnesses, the bicyclist did not stop," Linders said.

The bus was traveling east on Summit Avenue and was in the intersection waiting for westbound traffic to clear so he could make a left turn northbound onto Snelling Avenue. The light turned red, traffic cleared and the driver began his turn, Linders said.

The bus then struck Grahn, who biked westbound on Summit through a red light without stopping, Linders said.

The crash occurred about 2:10 p.m. by Macalester College while 30 students from Ramsey Middle School were on the bus.

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Grahn, 75, died at the scene.

"There are currently no plans to send the case to the city attorney's office" for review of lesser charges, Linders said. "According to the investigator, there doesn't appear to be any probable cause for any crime that the city attorney would prosecute."

CHAO XIONG

Alan Grahn was killed while he was riding his bicycle and was struck by a school bus in St. Paul.
Alan Grahn was killed while he was riding his bicycle and was struck by a school bus in St. Paul. (From Facebook/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Chao Xiong

Reporter

Chao Xiong was the Hennepin County Courts reporter for the Star Tribune. He previously covered Ramsey County courts, St. Paul police, the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.

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