MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that Kevin Green, 19, of Reedsburg, Wis., has been sentenced after pleading guilty to Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Vehicle. Green was driving the vehicle that struck and killed a 13-year-old child as she boarded a school bus on May 12, 2023. He has been sentenced to four years of probation with conditions including three months conditional jail with Huber privileges, 200 hours of community service with at least 50 hours per year, eight community presentations to high-school-aged children about the dangers of distracted driving with at least two presentations per year, no contact with the victims unless authorized by both the victims and the probation agent, a 12-month license revocation, no driving without a valid license, restitution payments, court costs amounting to $518, and providing a DNA sample.
“This is an extraordinarily tragic case,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “Thank you to everyone who saw this heartbreaking case through the justice system.”
According to the complaint, Green was driving a Ford F-150 truck behind a school bus just before 7:30 am when he failed to notice it had stopped in front of him to pick up children. The complaint states he was traveling at approximately 63 miles per hour when he swerved toward the ditch and struck the rear right side of the school bus before hitting the child standing in her driveway. The child succumbed to her injuries.
The complaint further notes that Green was texting while driving at and before the time of the crash.
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Department led the investigation. Assistant Attorneys General Tara Jenswold and Emily Thompson from the Criminal Litigation Unit of the Wisconsin DOJ Division of Legal Services handled prosecution duties. Victim services were provided by Anne Kessenich from DOJ’s Office of Crime Victim Services.