{"id":72876,"date":"2026-11-11T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72876"},"modified":"2026-11-10T11:32:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T17:32:52","slug":"bemidji-woman-charged-after-passing-school-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-woman-charged-after-passing-school-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Woman Charged After Passing School Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEMIDJI, MN \u2013 (trfnews.i234.me)<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A Bemidji woman faces a gross misdemeanor charge following an alleged school bus stop-arm violation involving a child.<\/p>\n

Kiara Elyse Wittwer, 25, of Bemidji, is accused of failing to stop for a school bus while a student was outside the bus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incident reportedly occurred April 27, 2026, near Bemidji Road and Sumac Road in Beltrami County.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint, surveillance footage captured a Honda Civic passing a stopped school bus as a child exited.<\/p>\n

School Bus Camera Captures Alleged Violation<\/h2>\n

At approximately 3:55 p.m., Bemidji school bus number 73 was traveling northbound on Bemidji Road.<\/p>\n

The bus stopped to allow a student to exit.<\/p>\n

According to investigators, its red stop sign and stop arm were extended.<\/p>\n

As the student stepped off the bus and reached the ground, a southbound Honda Civic approached.<\/p>\n

Investigators reported that the Honda continued past the stopped bus without stopping.<\/p>\n

The vehicle did not appear to slow down, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Bus Driver Warns Student to Wait<\/h2>\n

Video footage reportedly showed the school bus driver attempting to warn the student about the approaching vehicle.<\/p>\n

The driver tried to tell the child to wait because the Honda was not stopping.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the vehicle continued southbound while the bus remained stopped.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint does not report that the child was struck or injured.<\/p>\n

Deputy Reviews Surveillance Footage<\/h2>\n

On May 7, approximately ten days after the incident, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office received information about the violation.<\/p>\n

The Bemidji Bus Garage provided video footage from school bus number 73.<\/p>\n

Investigators reviewed the footage and identified the Honda Civic’s Minnesota license plate.<\/p>\n

A registration search showed the vehicle belonged to Kiara Elyse Wittwer.<\/p>\n

However, the investigating deputy could not determine the driver’s identity or gender from the video.<\/p>\n

Vehicle Located at Registered Owner’s Home<\/h2>\n

Following the registration check, investigators visited Wittwer’s residence.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, a deputy observed a Honda Civic displaying the same registration.<\/p>\n

The deputy contacted Wittwer and questioned her about the reported incident.<\/p>\n

Wittwer reportedly said she did not remember passing a school bus.<\/p>\n

She acknowledged regularly traveling on Bemidji Road when going to work.<\/p>\n

She also told investigators she did not know of anyone else who may have used her vehicle.<\/p>\n

The complaint does not state that Wittwer admitted committing the violation.<\/p>\n

Gross Misdemeanor Charge Filed<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors charged Wittwer under Minnesota Statute 169.444, subdivision 2(b)(2).<\/p>\n

The law addresses drivers who unlawfully pass stopped school buses while children are outside on the roadway or adjacent sidewalk.<\/p>\n

The offense carries a maximum possible sentence of 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

The case was filed in Beltrami County District Court under number 04-CR-26-2486.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint was issued with a summons.<\/p>\n

School Bus Safety Remains a Concern<\/h2>\n

Minnesota law requires drivers to stop at least 20 feet from school buses displaying flashing red lights.<\/p>\n

Drivers must remain stopped until the bus’s red lights are no longer flashing.<\/p>\n

The rules are intended to protect children getting on and off school buses.<\/p>\n

Additional information is available through Minnesota Statute 169.444<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public case information can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current outcome of Wittwer’s criminal case has not been independently confirmed.<\/p>\n

Wittwer is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Bemidji woman faces a gross misdemeanor charge following an alleged school bus stop-arm violation involving a child.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bemidji woman faces a gross misdemeanor charge after a Honda Civic allegedly passed a stopped school bus while a child was getting off near Bemidji Road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1212,1224,1197,32016],"trf_mt_town":[29430],"trf_mt_county":[29512],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county","tag-bemidji","tag-criminal-charges","tag-kiara-elyse-wittwer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72878,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72876\/revisions\/72878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72876"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72876"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72876"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72876"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}