Adult teen charged after months-old Iron Range school bus crash
By Hayley Raatsi, Northern News Now – December 27, 2024
CHERRY TWP, Minn.—Months after hitting a school bus on the Iron Range an adult teen has been charged.
Svea Snickers, 19, of Alborn, Minn. has been charged with 22 counts of criminal vehicular operation, five of those being felonies.
In addition, she was charged with failure to stop at a stop sign and using her phone while driving, which are misdemeanors.
These charges come after Snickers hit the school bus carrying 21 Cherry School students back in September
According to the criminal complaint, on Sept. 12 at around 7:50 a.m., Minnesota State Patrol troopers responded to a two-vehicle injury crash on County Road 5 and Townline Road in Cherry Township.
A school bus and a 2006 Toyota RAV 4 were involved in the crash.
The intersection where the crash occurred is a four-way intersection with stop signs on Townline Road requiring drivers to stop and yield to traffic on County Road 5.
Court documents say the stop signs were in good condition, the road surface was dry, and the weather was clear on the day of the crash.
Initial investigation shows Snickers was traveling eastbound on Townline Road, and the bus was heading northbound on County Road 5.
Authorities say Snickers failed to stop for the stop sign and T-boned the school bus which then rolled into the ditch.
Snickers also received serious non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a Duluth hospital by ambulance.
Before she was sent to the hospital, authorities spoke to her about the crash.
According to the court documents, she stated that she thought she was using her seatbelt, remembered traveling at or around 60 mph and that she checked her phone at some point before the crash.
However, she could not remember if it was just before the crash or minutes before.
Snickers denied taking any medication, alcohol, or drugs that would have affected her ability to drive.
Authorities then spoke to the school bus driver.
He stated he was on his normal route and drove around the barricade at the intersections to pick up his next student.
At that time, he looked to the left and saw the vehicle approaching the intersection without slowing or stopping.
The bus driver told authorities he knew immediately it was going to be a bad crash but did not have time to respond to avoid getting hit.
At the time of the crash, the bus driver stated he was going 50-55 mph, used his seatbelt, and was not on his work-issued phone.
He agreed to a PBT which registered a .000 breath alcohol concentration.
Minnesota State troopers then interviewed a witness to the crash who was traveling northbound on County Road 5 directly behind the bus.
She estimated they were traveling 55-60 mph.
The witness told authorities as they approached the intersection the vehicle did not stop and slammed into the side of the bus.
She stated the bus spun and rolled once, landing on its side.
About a week after the crash, troopers spoke with Snickers at her home.
According to troopers, Snickers stated that on the morning of the crash, she left her boyfriend’s house north of Chisholm and was heading back home.
Court documents say she initially admitted that she used Snapchat to send a “voice text” to a friend.
However, Snickers later admitted it had been a “video message,” according to investigators.
Snickers said she believed she sent the message while on South Dublin Road, close to the crash scene.
Troopers executed a search warrant on Snickers phone and Snapchat account, and said they found that she was using Snapchat while driving.
Records indicate Snickers had taken a screenshot on Snapchat at 7:48 a.m., just seconds before a 911 call was initiated.
Troopers also executed a search warrant on Snickers’ vehicle.
The vehicle’s airbag five-second pre-crash data recorded speeds before the crash were 48-53 mph.
Additionally, there was no pre-impact braking.
Braking was only triggered by the deployment of the airbags.
Snickers is looking at up to three years behind bars for the incident.
At the time of publication, she has not been booked into the St. Louis County Jail.
Snickers first court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 30.