Onetime school bus driver gets more than 3 years for fatal hit-and-run in Brooklyn Park

A 35-year-old man was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison for hitting and killing a woman in Brooklyn Park while driving a school bus with children aboard and then leaving the scene.

Jason R. Rynders' sentence of three years and five months by Hennepin County District Judge William Koch was slightly less than the four years that the prosecution requested and was a rejection of the defendant's request for probation.

Rynders, of Maple Grove, pleaded guilty in November to hit-and-run criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on March 16, 2020, that killed Devon Lizbeth Doherty, 45, of Brooklyn Park.

With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Rynders will serve roughly 2¼ years in prison and the balance of his term on supervised release.

Rynders' bus struck the woman about 6:45 a.m. at Humboldt Avenue and Meadowwood Drive as he was heading to Friendship Academy, a Minneapolis charter elementary school. Doherty died at the scene. No children aboard were hurt.

"You should have stayed," Koch said to Rynders before announcing the sentence. "You should have called 911. … You panicked, and you left."

Before hearing his punishment, Rynders apologized to Doherty's family. As his wife watched in the courtroom, Rynders said he needed to look after his two children, ages 1 and 6 months, and his 4-year-old stepdaughter.

"I cannot express how this last two years has impacted my life," Rynders said. "I carry Ms. Doherty with me every day. I know that I did wrong. … I will jump through hoops to make it right. My family needs me."

Prosecutor Leah Erickson showed the court video from the bus Rynders was driving and from a nearby home surveillance camera. The clips showed the bus noticeably jerking when it struck Doherty, Rynders stopping and walking off-screen, then running back to the bus and pulling away as another driver pleaded with him to help.

"Your honor, the videos are compelling," Erickson said. "Defendant knew he hit a person and heard [the other driver's] pleas."

Erickson added that in a pre-sentence investigation, Rynders still claimed to not know he had struck Doherty and that he did not hear the other driver.

A county victim advocate, Anne Burgoyne, then read a joint statement from Doherty's parents, Diane and Tom Doherty, who watched the sentencing via Zoom.

"Our daughter, Devon Lizbeth Doherty, was a gift to all who knew her," they said, describing her as the "perfect daughter."

They recalled how Doherty meticulously selected the perfect Christmas presents for her friends and family, and how she dedicated herself to animals and her dogs. She loved traveling the country to attend concerts and her job as a senior paralegal.

"Since we lost her, there's not a celebration of any sort that matters any longer," they said. "She was the cornerstone that held it together."

Defense attorney Tiffany Spoor argued for probation, noting that Rynders cooperated with the investigation, was "truly remorseful," had no criminal record and had the support of his family and employer.

Spoor also said he continues to stand by his initial statements that he was not aware of the collision and the other driver's pleas.

"Nothing can bring Devon Doherty back," Spoor said. "[Rynders] is young and has a lot that he can still give to the world, but he's not without fault."