Court of appeals issues opinion on crash that killed BBE Coach

WILLMAR - The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction Monday of Brian L. Anderson, the driver involved in the October 2012 accident that killed BBE teacher and coach Richard C. Vos.
Anderson, 52, of Belgrade, was the driver of the semi truck that struck and killed Vos, who was bicycling on the side of U.S. Highway 71 in Belgrade at the time of the accident.
A Kandiyohi County District Court jury convicted Anderson in March of misdemeanor failure to allow a safe distance when passing a bicycle. He was sentenced to a year of probation and 90 days of jail, stayed for a year. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service.
Anderson later appealed the conviction, stating that the charge does not apply to his case. He argued that he was unaware that he was passing a bicycle at the time of the accident.
He also argued that the court gave the jury improper instructions and erred in imposing a misdemeanor sentence.
Court of appeals judges Larry Stauber, Renee Worke and Terri Stoneburner issued an unpublished opinion Monday in response to Anderson’s appeal.
The opinion states that the charge does indeed apply to Anderson’s case.
“Because Anderson’s vehicle moved alongside the bicycle, struck its pedal area, and proceeded past the bicycle, the evidence plainly establishes that Anderson overtook and passed the cyclist,” the opinion states.
It also argues that any potential error in jury instructions would not have impacted the jury’s verdict.
“Even if the district court erred by failing to give Anderson’s requested instruction, such error was harmless,” it states.
The opinion also argues that Anderson’s sentence was not illegally enhanced.

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