On October 20, 2022 shortly after 4 a.m., officers with the Mountain View Police Department responded to a fire at the Mountain View School District Bus Barn, located at 117 West Fifth Street. Upon arrival, Officer Combs radioed to 911 dispatch and requested the fire department respond because he could see flames shooting up into the sky about 30 feet.
Mountain View Police Chief Jamie Perkins responded to assist. Upon his arrival, the building was almost burnt to the ground. Chief Perkins describes the investigation “Once the fire was under control, I started to look for a possible reason the fire started. I saw in the gravel parking lot fresh 18-wheeler tracks that went through the parking lot in an east to west direction. Halfway through the lot it appears that the tires dug into the gravel in an apparent sudden acceleration. The main power supply with attached weather head was slung across the parking lot close to 5th Street. The hottest spot during the fire was at the East side of the building where the weather head was attached to the building. It appears a large truck pulling a trailer drove through the lot, striking the main power line and ripping it out from the building causing the fire. ”
The Bus Barn has cameras mounted to the outside of the building, but with the building being a total loss, it was feared investigators could not retrieve the videos. Chief Perkins was able to recover the security video with the assistance of school superintendent Dr. Christianson. Amazingly, it survived the fire and security was able to pull up the video of the incident. It looked as though the DVR was hooked to a battery backup which ran for another 5 minuets before going out.
In the video, you can see a White Semi pulling a longer box trailer pull into the Bus Barn parking lot from the West coming very close to the building. The driver, who appears to be a darker complexioned male with dark hair, leans out of the window looking back at the power line as it catches his box trailer. Instead of stopping, the driver continues forward as the power line sparks and is pulled apart, shooting blinding sparks and fire as it falls between his truck and trailer. The driver then accelerates out of the parking lot, dragging the live power line as it arcs off the truck, throwing fiery sparks across the parking lot. The only markings visible are “BTS Transport” on the door and the numbers “786” near the headlight on the driver’s side. The driver never stops, nor calls 911, rather he speeds off turning North onto Pine Street and then to East on US Hwy 60.
The Mountain View School District Bus Barn was a total loss, including its contents. The State Fire Marshals office, The Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Missouri DOT are assisting the Mountain View Police Department in the identification of the semi-truck and driver.
This case is still under investigation.
