County official guilty of slapping bus driver

MARION, Ind. — A county councilman has admitted to striking a school bus driver after a near collision last fall between the official’s 80,000-pound grain truck and the school bus.

Myron Brankle, 58, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of trespassing and battery, according to TheIndyChannel.com.

Brankle said the school bus pulled in front of him at an intersection, forcing him to swerve to avoid an accident. He then flagged down the bus, boarded it and argued with the driver. He slapped the driver’s hand as students looked on.

Brankle had originally been charged with a felony count, but the charge was reduced to the two misdemeanors as part of a plea bargain. Because he was not convicted of a felony charge, Brankle will not have to give up his seat on the Grant County Council in Marion, which is located about 60 miles north of Indianapolis.