Man who drove drunk through bus, killing one person and injuring another, sentenced to 10 years

Feb. 28--In a move that stunned attorneys on both sides and the court, the family of the men killed and seriously injured by a driver who drunkenly sped into a bus last summer offered their forgiveness at his sentencing Wednesday.

Markus Jackson and Kenneth Foster's family members told Tyler R. Bjelland, 27, that they forgave him, and urged him to use the experience to save lives.

"It's been a very hard healing process," said Foster's best friend, Yolanda Sims. "I want you to be able to be an advocate ... to tell people, 'Don't drink and drive.' "

Ramsey County District Court Judge Sara Grewing said the five people who gave victim-impact statements showed "incredible grace and mercy and compassion."

"It also leads me to believe that you were led by a great man...," Grewing said of Foster.

Grewing sentenced Bjelland, a Minneapolis resident, to 10 years in prison for criminal vehicular homicide, and 5 years in prison for criminal vehicular operation. The sentences were longer than recommended guidelines, and will run concurrently.

Foster was killed in the July 21 crash when Bjelland, who was traveling 91 to 98 mph as he fled an earlier hit-and-run crash, went airborne and sliced through a Metro Transit bus at Charles Avenue and Dale Street.

Foster, 48, was riding the bus home from work. Jackson, 20, was badly injured. He was riding the bus to go see his girlfriend.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Margaret Gustafson Samec told the court that Bjelland's blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit, .08, to drive at the time, and that several other bus passengers and the bus driver were traumatized by the crash.

Bjelland pleaded guilty to the counts in December, and agreed to the statutory maximum sentences even though his low criminal history score and sentencing guidelines would have called for shorter terms, said his attorney, Kelley Malone O'Neill.

Malone O'Neill said her client was remorseful for his actions.

Given a chance to address the court, Bjelland said, "I just appreciate the family being ... forgiving."

Malone O'Neill said Jackson's and the Foster family's forgiveness was unlike anything she had seen in her 30 years as an attorney.

"It's been a tough journey," Jackson told the court of his recovery from a brain injury that required temporary removal of part of his skull. "I am headed back towards my life."

Foster's daughters, Kenyatta Foster and Lawanda Foster Larson, and one of his sons, Damarus Brown, also spoke in court.

"I love him and I forgive him," Brown said. "You have a long life ahead of you. This is your chance."

Bjelland's stepmother quietly wept in the courtroom as the family spoke. Jackson, Sims and others later hugged her as they exited the courtroom.

"I know that he's going to get out and do right," Sims told Bjelland's father, Bruce Bjelland, as she hugged him, "and that everything you taught him is going to make sense."

"It was touching," Bruce Bjelland later said.

Kenyatta Foster said after the sentencing that although it was "very hard," she chose to forgive Bjelland after praying on the matter.

"My dad would have forgave him," she said. "I don't want to live my life with hatred. It takes more effort to be angry than to forgive and live your life the way my dad wanted."

Foster has six children and seven grandchildren.

Jackson said he had reached the same conclusion without consulting the Foster family, whom he has since grown close to. He said he had no memory of the collision, and first recalled waking up in a hospital room in a panic not knowing what had occurred.

"I tried to get up and fell," he said of his first memory after the crash.

Jackson's attorney, Eric Palmer, said he was unconscious for at least three days. Doctors removed part of his skull to accommodate the swelling of his injured brain, and replaced the skull fragment in October.

Jackson and Palmer said he has collected close to half-a-million dollars in medical bills, and that much of it will likely not be covered by insurance. The vehicle Bjelland was driving at the time was not insured.

Palmer said they're working with various insurance companies to see how much coverage Jackson will receive. Jackson said he continues to suffer memory loss and is sensitive to light and noise because of his brain injury. He also suffered a broken toe in the crash.

"Medically and physically, he's made a remarkable recovery," Palmer said.

Jackson, who lives and grew up in St. Paul, said he's focusing on completing general education courses at Saint Paul College (he had class Wednesday afternoon) so he can later transfer to the University of Minnesota, where he wants to study psychology.

"The recovery has been a process -- good days, bad days, in-between days," Jackson said. "It's a building block for me to forgive him."

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