On Oct. 28, Joseph Tikalsky took a short break between routes in New Prague, Minn.
Though he was 79 years old and could have long since retired, he still drove a school bus because he enjoyed the youthful vigor of the children.
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“He loved those kids,” Craig Most, the district’s director of operations told the Star Tribune. “He told me every year he enjoyed it, and he’d keep doing it as long as he enjoyed it.”
It had been his calling for 50 years, complete with his signature Friday announcement — “It’s Friday! Whoopee!”
That dark and rainy Wednesday morning was just another in a blur of shifts.
At around 7:35 a.m., he put coffee on. As its aroma filled the house with a promise of warmth in the midst of a Minnesota autumn, Tikalsky walked out to grab a copy of the morning’s newspaper.
He crossed the country road to his mailbox. Though it was dark, he had already donned his reflective vest, a highlighter-yellow jacket with reflective white stripes, according to the Star Tribune. Any drivers in the vicinity would easily notice its bright colors and be sure to avoid him.
Not Susan Russo.
The 48-year-old schoolteacher might have seen Tikalsky, if she had been paying attention.
Instead, she decided to answer a text message from her daughter while driving her van down County Road 29.
Russo struck Tikalsky in the road, his coffee still brewing inside. All she saw, according to the Le Center Leader, was a “yellow color blur.” She called 911, but it was too late.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A few days later, as Russo was charged for reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor, and misuse of a wireless communication device, also a misdemeanor.
Russo entered a guilty plea to both charges, KSTP reported. As part of the plea deal, the misuse of a wireless communication device charge was dropped.
But, though she told investigators she had been texting at the time, a forensic investigation uncovered no evidence of texting or other activity on her phone.
She later attempted to retract the plea but District Judge Mark Vandelist denied the motion, pointing out she should have seen the 79-year-old regardless of whether she was texting.
On Monday, District Judge Mark Vandelist offered a sentence seemingly designed to ensure she remains conscious of her crime.
Atop 40 hours of community service with Minnesotans for Safe Driving, two years of supervised probation and a $3,080 fine that will partially be used to pay for a public service announcement about the dangers of texting and driving, Russo will serve only four days in prison, Le Center Leader reported.
But those four days will be split into two-day stints, the first beginning this Oct. 28 and the second beginning on Oct. 28, 2017 — the first and second anniversary of Tikalsky’s death.