The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen illegally is accused of passing a school bus while it was stopped near her home, reported MTFP News.
According to a complaint filed with the Helena Police Department, a red Chevy Colorado pockup truck drove around the bus’ fully extended crossing arm.
The incident occurred while schoolchildren were loading onto the bus at a bus stop near Mountain View Park on Helena’s southeast side on May 19.
The bus driver, Stuart Beagles, said he recognized Arntzen behind the wheel and wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle she was driving, then proceeded to submit it to police.
Elsie Arntzen acknowledged in a telephone interview that she lives in the area and owns a red pickup, but stated that she had no recollection of the incident or awareness that it was reported to the police.
Montana Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division records indicate the license plate number belongs to a truck registered to Arntzen’s husband, Steven W. Arntzen, of Billings.
Beagles provided a statement and images captured by the bus’s onboard cameras to Helena police.
Arntzen said she hopes the incident will raise awareness about bus safety.
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