Michigan Man Drove Into Girl Getting On School Bus In Edina: Cops

EDINA, MN — A Michigan man has been charged in the Jan. 23 hit-and-run of a teenage girl who was boarding a school bus in Edina, authorities said.

Carlton Troutman, 26, of Flint, Michigan, faces a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. A nationwide warrant for Troutman was issued March 11, authorities said, and he was arrested in Michigan two days later.

According to the criminal complaint, around 8 a.m. Jan. 23, Troutman took a friend’s car, along with two other passengers, and began driving aggressively. Troutman and his passengers had slept in the car the night before, officials said, while the car's owner stayed at his girlfriend's house.

At about 8:10 a.m., Troutman was speeding when he approached a school bus at the intersection of France and Halifax avenues in Edina, police said.

He swerved to the right of the school bus, went on the shoulder of the road, accelerated and "violently struck" a 17-year-old girl as she was about to board the school bus, the complaint states.

The girl hit the car's windshield and was thrown about 50 feet, police said, and Troutman drove away.

Paramedics took the girl to Fairview Southdale Hospital, where she was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said.

A passenger in the car received a call from the owner after the crash and told him what had occurred, authorities said. At 8:34 a.m., the car's owner contacted the Minneapolis Police Department and filed a false stolen-vehicle report in an effort to protect his friend from being linked to the crash, the complaint states.

Minneapolis police picked up the owner at his girlfriend’s house and drove him to where the car was in Edina to retrieve it, according to authorities.

The owner then met with Troutman and the passengers and drove to Mankato, authorities said.

Edina police soon began receiving eyewitness accounts of the hit-and-run, which allowed investigators to identify the car Troutman was driving and, ultimately, linked the car to the owner, the complaint states.

Investigators interviewed the car's owner, who told them what transpired the evening of Jan. 22 and how he stayed at his girlfriend’s house while the others slept outside the residence in his car, police said. When he woke up, he said, the car was gone, and he called one of the passengers, who informed him that Troutman had taken the car, authorities said. The car's owner also told investigators that Troutman admitted to hitting the girl, the complaint states.

Police recovered the car Jan. 28 in Mankato and found marks on the front that were consistent with the car hitting the girl, according to investigators.

Both passengers were later interviewed by police and recounted the events leading up to, during and after the crash, police said. Each said Troutman threatened them if they cooperated with police, the complaint continues.

Troutman eventually contacted Edina police after the incident and admitted to being in the car at various times before and after the incident but could not recall the crash, citing a loss of memory at the time, the complaint says.

On March 13, Troutman was arrested in Eaton County, Michigan, while driving under the influence, according to police. He is currently being held in Eaton County Jail awaiting extradition to Minnesota to face the criminal charge.