Bus driver in Sept. accident fined $100

    After an amended complaint was filed by County Attorney Joel Burke, Keith D. Cranwell was fined $100 for careless driving related to the CCS bus accident in September.
    The fine assessed by Judge Edward Steenburg was issued March 22 in Chase County Court.
    Cranwell, 31 of Champion was originally charged with willful reckless driving, a misdemeanor, and failure to yield, an infraction, after the bus accident in late September about four miles southwest of Imperial.
    The careless driving for which Cranwell was fined is an infraction.
    Cranwell was driver of the Chase County Schools southbound bus, which was turning left off Champion Spur 15A Highway Sept. 27 and came into contact with a fully loaded northbound semi-trailer, which hit the rear of the bus.
    All but one of the 12 children on the bus were taken to Chase County Community Hospital for examination after the accident. Three were transported to other regional hospitals.
    Cranwell was at the March 22 hearing in person. His North Platte attorney appeared telephonically.