SCRANTON — City police charged Bob Bolus in connection with a hit-and-run collision Saturday downtown while he was driving his pro-Trump tractor-trailer with a suspended driver’s license during an anti-Trump “No Kings” protest.
Hundreds of people attended the protest at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square in response to President Donald Trump’s military parade held Saturday in Washington, D.C. The event in Scranton was one of many “No Kings” protests held throughout the nation Saturday.
Bolus, 82, an avid supporter of President Donald Trump, attended the protest in Scranton with his trademark tractor-trailer festooned with political messages and images, including his own photo. Bolus parked the tractor-trailer at the event to make a political statement, he said Monday in a phone interview.
Bolus’ version of events includes:
• As the protest was winding down to end around 2 p.m., Bolus decided to drive the tractor-trailer away and bring it back around along the protest at the square, to rile up the crowd. While making a wide right turn from Linden Street onto North Washington Avenue, a small car came up quickly on the passenger side of his tractor-trailer. A passenger of Bolus alerted him that a car was on the passenger side of the truck as it was making the turn into the right lane of the street. Bolus slammed on his brakes.
• The car drove ahead of the tractor-trailer and parked on the left side of North Washington Avenue. The car driver got out, Bolus cursed at him and the car driver walked away to join the protest. Bolus did not even know the two vehicles made contact, until later that day when Scranton police contacted him to investigate reports that he had been involved in a hit-and-run at the protest.
• “The guy hit me,” Bolus said. “He came up on my right side, trying to block me. He scraped along the right side (of the tractor-trailer). I never even knew he hit me. I stopped right there and I cursed at him.” Bolus continued: “They’re trying to say it’s a hit-and-run. He hit me. I didn’t hit him.”
Police probe faults Bolus
But a police investigation resulted in misdemeanor charges against Bolus.
On Thursday, the Scranton Police Department issued on Facebook a media release about the incident. The release stated the Patrol Division investigated a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle at North Washington Avenue and Linden Street and determined that Bolus was the driver of the tractor-trailer.
“After reviewing video footage, witness testimony and a conversation with Mr. Bolus, it was determined that Bolus was at fault,” the media release stated.
A press release posted Thursday, June 19, on the Scranton Police Department’s Facebook page. (IMAGE FROM SCRANTON POLICE DEPARTMENT’S FACEBOOK PAGE)
Bolus was charged via summons with the following misdemeanor violations: Accident involving damage to an attended vehicle or property, commonly referred to as hit-and-run; and driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked, according to the news release.
“This matter has been referred to Lackawanna County Court for adjudication,” the release stated.
It did not say when summonses were filed and they were not yet listed as of Thursday afternoon in the court docket that’s publicly available online. Police did not identify the other driver.
Bob Bolus Sr. (COURTESY OF BOB BOLUS SR.)
Throop traffic stop led to license suspension
The violation in Scranton of driving with a suspended license stemmed from a traffic stop in November in Throop, according to court documents and Bolus.
On Monday, Bolus filed in Lackawanna County Court an appeal of his suspended driver’s license seeking a court order restoring it. The appeal is against the state Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Driver Licensing.
The appeal, which Bolus filed on a pro-se basis, meaning representing himself and without an attorney, references three citations involving license plate and insurance infractions that Bolus received in Throop from a traffic stop in November.
Bolus’ appeal claims he was not aware of a hearing on these citations from the traffic stop in Throop. Court documents indicate he did not attend the hearing in April and was found guilty of those three violations.
“Appellant did not receive a letter or notice advising him of any suspension” of his driver’s license, Bolus’ appeal claims.
The appeal also contends that he missed a prior 30-day deadline to appeal the suspension because he was not aware of the hearing that had taken place, and he also was “undergoing issues related to a structure fire” that destroyed his business headquarters at 922 Sanderson St. in Throop in January.
Bolus’ appeal also claims he had valid insurance coverage during the traffic stop in Throop, when he was cited for failing to provide proof of insurance. He wasn’t carrying the insurance card at that time, and he offered to deliver his insurance card to Throop police the next day, but the officer cited him. This makes the license suspension unlawful because Bolus was insured at the time of the traffic stop in Throop, his appeal claims.
In a phone interview Thursday about the Scranton incident and a follow-up about his appeal of the license suspension, Bolus said he was driving one of his service trucks, which is about the size of a pickup, during the Throop traffic stop that occurred about a block away from his headquarters on Sanderson Avenue. The service truck had an incorrect license plate because of an error by one of his employees, who had put the wrong license plate on the vehicle, he said.
“It was just an honest mistake that somebody put the wrong plate on,” Bolus said.
The appeal of the license suspension is pending in court.
“By the law, my license isn’t suspended. They can’t do what they’re doing,” Bolus contended. “I’m not even concerned about it.”