School Bus Driver Sentenced For Killing Pedestrian, Fleeing Crash

HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN — A bus driver was sentenced Monday to serve more than three years in prison after admitting he hit and killed a Brooklyn Park woman while driving kids to school two years ago.

Jason Rynders, who lived in Maple Grove at the time of the crash, was given a 41-month prison sentence Monday, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Rynders pleaded guilty in November to one count of criminal vehicular homicide for his role in the crash that killed 45-year-old Devon Lizbeth Doherty in March 2020.

Maple Grove Attorney Launches Bid For MN State Auditor

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office was seeking a four-year prison sentence for Rynders, while Rynders’ defense team asked Judge William Koch for probation, prosecutors said.

Rynders hit Doherty around 6:45 a.m. March 16, 2020, near the intersection of Humboldt Avenue and Meadowwood Drive in Brooklyn Park, according to the criminal complaint against him.

Free N95 Masks Coming To MN: Where To Get Them In Maple Grove

Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed a portion of the fatal crash, police said. It also showed a driver yelling for Rynders to call 911 before he ran back to the bus — which was carrying children — and left the area, police said.

Footage from cameras on the bus showed that Rynders pulled over and got out of the bus around the time of the crash before dropping off four or five children at school about 45 minutes later, according to the criminal complaint.

He was also seen checking under the bus after the crash, police said.