>SHELL LAKE, Wis. (AP) – A Spooner man who was arrested for child abuse days after surviving the Twin Cities bridge collapse has pleaded no contest to criminal charges.
Michael Stoner entered the plea to second-degree reckless endangerment and obstructing an officer in Washburn County Circuit Court on Monday.
Stoner and his girlfriend were on their way to a Minneapolis hospital to see her 2-year-old daughter August 1 when the bridge collapsed, killing 13 people. The toddler had been flown to the hospital that morning after suffering injuries.
Stoner was arrested days later and accused of abusing the child. Doctors determined her injuries were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome.
Stoner and Crystal Manning got national media attention with their story of swimming to safety after their vehicle fell into the Mississippi River when the bridge collapsed.
