Brown County student hit by school bus
On March 9, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Minor responded to an accident on Four Mile Ridge Road.
According to the accident report, a school bus driver was dropping children off at a bus stop. The driver placed the bus in park and waited as the children exited the vehicle.
The driver waited until all the children were off the bus, and when he thought they had all crossed the road, he placed the bus back into drive, then ran over a child who was located at the front of the bus.
According to the report, the bus had smashed the child’s leg. The child complained of leg pain and was transported by their parents to Columbus Regional Hospital.
The bus driver completed the bus route and then reported the accident, the report said. The child’s parents contacted authorities after transporting the child to the hospital.
School Superintendent Emily Tracy said the day after the incident that due to federal privacy laws, the school corporation is not permitted to release the identity of the student.
In a Facebook post from Tracy to the school corporation’s page on March 10, she said that Brown County Schools is reviewing all of its safety protocols and procedures with the schools’ transportation department.
“The driver of the bus has been removed from the route pending further investigation into the accident,” she said via email on March 10.
“On behalf of our Brown County community, I ask that you keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. As a result of this very unfortunate incident, Brown County Schools is reviewing all of its safety protocols and procedures with our transportation department. The safety of your children is our highest priority and is a responsibility we take very seriously.”
Police: Woman drove on suspended license
A 21-year-old Bloomington woman, Tonnayjia Barbee, faces a Level 6 felony charge for identity deception following an event early this year.
According to the probable cause affidavit, while Indiana State Trooper Matthew Fleener was monitoring traffic on State Road 46 West on the morning of Jan. 17, he observed a vehicle traveling at 60 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone.
Fleener conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at State Road 46 and Green Valley Branch Road.
The driver, later identified as Barbee, allegedly provided a driver’s license with a different name. Due to this, Fleener conducted the rest of the traffic stop thinking Barbee was the individual on the license.
After allegedly handing over the false license, Barbee told Fleener that she did not have a bill of sale of title for the car she was in because she had just purchased it. However, the vehicle did have a license plate.
Fleener asked about the plate, and Barbee reportedly said the plate belonged to a family member and was registered to their Jeep. Fleener conducted an inquiry into the BMV files for the plate, which showed it to be registered to Barbee, for a green Jeep.
Not knowing her true identity, Fleener issued Barbee a warning for speeding and a ticket for display of false and/or fictitious registration, which appeared on the driving record of the individual on the driver’s license.
Due to this, on Feb. 22, Fleener met with the individual on the license at their residence. According to the report, the individual said that she had lost her wallet in December. In February her family member, Barbee, told her she had found her wallet and returned it to her, but it was missing her driver’s license.
The individual said that she had recently discovered that she had an infraction issued in her name on Jan. 17, but then informed Fleener that she does not drive and was not in Brown County on that date.
According to the report, the individual then questioned Barbee via text about the infraction, because she was the person who returned the wallet with the missing license.
Barbee reportedly informed the individual that it was just a misunderstanding and that she would pay for the ticket before the court date. The individual provided Fleener with screenshots of the text conversation.
The individual indicated that she had asked Barbee to return her license but as of Feb. 22, it had not been returned. She also confirmed with Fleener that she has never owned and/or registered a Jeep in her name.
After some more inquiries in to BMV records, Fleener learned that Barbee’s license had been suspended indefinitely last March, and six days before the traffic stop on Jan. 17, she was issued an infraction for driving while suspended.
Fleener then spoke with Barbee on the phone and asked why she had pretended to be the other individual. Barbee reportedly told police she accidentally handed over the wrong license.
Fleener then pointed out that according to the video of the traffic stop, she had claimed the plate on the vehicle was registered to her family member, who owned a Jeep, when in actuality it was registered to her.
According to the report, Fleener asked if she did this because her driver’s license was suspended at the time of the stop. Barbee reportedly said she recently found out her license was suspended, but then again stated she handed over the wrong license on accident.
Barbee told Fleener she still had the individual’s license and would give it to Fleener to return to the individual.
On Feb. 23, Fleener met with Barbee and received the license. Fleener gave Barbee a warning for speed and a ticket for display of a false or fictitious plate and driving while suspended.
The probable cause affidavit was filed on Feb. 28 in the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office and Barbee faces a level 6 felony for identity deception.
Local man faces battery and mischief charges
A Nashville man, 48-year-old John Douglas, faces a Class A misdemeanor for battery resulting in bodily injury and a Class B misdemeanor for criminal mischief following an event last month.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Feb. 27, Nashville Police Officer Heath Young was dispatched to a residence on South Jefferson Street regarding a disturbance.
When Young, along with NPD Lt. Mike Horn, arrived on scene, they were met by the victim and another individual. They told the officers that a man, later identified as Douglas, had come to the back of the residence and “beat on the door.”
When the victim answered the door, she said she tried to ask Douglas to leave and if he had a problem, to contact the property owner.
Douglas allegedly became agitated, started cursing at her an then grabbed her forearm. The victim said that as she tried to pull away and close the door, Douglas struck her forearm with a swinging motion.
After she closed the door, the victim said Douglas threw a trash can on the porch and broke a vase.
The victim and the other individual said they did not know Douglas, but they saw him go into an apartment across the street. They also said that they were there to clean the residence and gave the owner’s information to the officers.
The officers then went to Douglas’ apartment. As they were approaching, Douglas stated from a window that he was upstairs and told the officers to “come on up,” according to the report.
As the officers reached the top of the stairs, Douglas opened his door and began stating why he went next door. According to the report, the officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from him when he spoke, and his eye were bloodshot.
Douglas said he went next door to tell them there is a sound ordinance, the report said. Douglas did tell police he hit the victim across the forearm when she asked him to leave, and added it was because he believed she touched him first.
The officers asked Douglas to put his hands behind his back, and according to the report, he did not comply. The officers placed him under arrest and secured his handcuffs.
Douglas told the officers that he had been drinking.
An ambulance arrived to check the victim’s injury, and she refused transport to the hospital. The property owner then came to the property and said they wanted Douglas trespassed from the property.
After Douglas was placed into the patrol vehicle, Young spoke with the other individual who works with the victim, and she gave the same description of events and said she witnessed Douglas hit the victim, then she called 911.
Douglas was transported and booked into the Brown County Jail with misdemeanors for battery and criminal mischief. The probable cause affidavit was filed in the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office on Feb. 28.
