The State - News from Jan. 27, 1987

The driver of a bus that plunged into the Walker River last May, killing 21 elderly passengers, pleaded innocent to 21 felony manslaughter counts and 24 other charges. Ernst August Klimeck, 48, whose last known address was in Glendale, entered his pleas during a five-minute arraignment before Mono County Justice Court Judge William Murano, who scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 7 in the court’s Bridgeport facility. In addition to the 21 felony counts, Klimeck pleaded innocent to 21 misdemeanor manslaughter charges and one count each of driving without the proper license, driving to the left of a double yellow line and driving on the wrong side of the road. Klimeck was released after posting a bond to cover $15,000 bail, which had been requested by Deputy Dist. Atty. George Booth.