New Prague woman pleads guilty in death of bus driver

A New Prague woman has accepted a plea agreement in connection with the October, 2015, death of a New Prague school bus driver.
Susan Ann Russo, 48, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Aug. 16, to reckless driving and misuse of a wireless communication device. The incident resulted in the death of 79-year-old Joseph Tikalsky in front of his home on Le Sueur County Road 29, just east of First Ave. SE, on the southern edge of New Prague on October 28.
The plea agreement calls for Russo to be sentenced to two years of probation and four days in jail. She will also pay a $3,000 fine and perform 40 hours of community service for Minnesotans for Safe Driving, an organization that assists all victims of traffic crashes and educates the public to the dangers of Drunk Driving and Distractive Driving. 
Russo will spend two days in jail on the one and two year anniversaries of the crash, but she might be eligible to leave jail to go to work on those days.
Russo must refrain from using drugs or alcohol during her probation and is not allowed to have electronic devices in her car. 
She admitted that her vehicle struck and killed Tikalsky at the scene as he collected his morning newspaper at the roadside. Tikalsky was wearing a reflective vest at the time and was on break after completing his first morning route. 
According to investigative reports from the crash, Russo told law enforcement at the scene that she had looked down at her phone and when she looked up she saw a “yellow blur" just before a “really big" impact. She told the deputy at the scene that she was "in the process of typing her daughter a text message” before the impact.
Russo could have been sentenced to up to a year in jail and fined $3,000 on the reckless driving charge and 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on the misuse of a wireless device charge.

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