Reality TV star allegedly ran her car in to school employee twice before 'laughing' at him

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A reality TV star allegedly swerved her car directly into a school employee after she got in to a disagreement with him while picking her child up from the building.

Jennifer Bertrand, now aged 50, won the third season of HGTV's Design Star, a reality competition series for interior designers, back in 2008.

But 16 years after rising to fame on the popular reality Tv show she is now facing criminal charges for allegedly hitting a school employee as he was directing traffic as parents and carers arrived to collect their children outside of a high school in Platte County, Missouri, United States.

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The incident happened at around 3pm on Tuesday August 20. Authorities claimed in a probable cause affidavit that Bertrand became too impatient to wait in the line of cars to pick up her child, and instead swerved her Porsche sedan around the other waiting cars, according to a local report.

The mum was allegedly seen “nearly striking another vehicle as it was attempting to leave the parking lot”. The unidentified victim said he then stepped in front of Bertrand’s car and began speaking to the star, telling her she needed to wait in line and could not cut in front of other parents.

The interior designer allegedly told him that she urgently needed to pick up her child from school due to an appointment. In response, the school staff member told her again that she could not cut the line and needed to go to the back of the line of waiting cars.

Jennifer Bertrand, now aged 50, who won the third season of HGTV's Design Star back in 2008, is facing a second-degree harassment charge after allegedly running in to a school employee with her car twice. Photo by HGTV.Jennifer Bertrand, now aged 50, who won the third season of HGTV's Design Star back in 2008, is facing a second-degree harassment charge after allegedly running in to a school employee with her car twice. Photo by HGTV.
Jennifer Bertrand, now aged 50, who won the third season of HGTV's Design Star back in 2008, is facing a second-degree harassment charge after allegedly running in to a school employee with her car twice. Photo by HGTV. | HGTV

At that point, Bertrand drove forward and hit the victim in his right leg with her car, knocking him off balance, Platte County Sheriff's Deputy Karl Lostroh - who was working as a school resource officer at the time - claimed. The victim told Bertrand to stop, and she allegedly “began laughing and arguing with him”.

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She then supposedly told the staffer, who was wearing a high-visibility safety vest, “Don't act like I hit you” and “I'll see you in court”. She then allegedly drove in to the victim once again, striking him in the leg for a second time.

Surveillance footage from the scene backs up the victim's claims, Lostroh wrote in the probable cause affidavit issued last week. “I believe the defendant poses a danger to the crime victim or society because the suspect struck an innocent person with her vehicle and did not [show] any concern for his safety or the safety of children or other pedestrians,” he wrote.

A warrant for her arrest was issued on Friday (January 31) on a second-degree harassment charge, with a $15,000 (around £12,000) cash-only bond.

It is unclear whether Bertrand has retained an attorney who could speak on her behalf, and a court date has not yet been set. Bertrand is an interior designer from Weatherby Lake, Missouri, according to her website. She lives with her husband and son.

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Following her win on Design Star, she went on to host her own show on HGTV called Paint Over which helps renovate veterans' homes. Bertrand has previously described her style as a “no-nonsense, accessible approach to making positive and impactful design changes without breaking the bank”.

Speaking to HGTV for a Where Are They Now? feature, Bertrand also previously spoke about the fame she received after her Design Star victory. “Being recognised since the show has been a lot of fun and given my family a lot of interesting stories,” she said. “The best is when you stand in an elevator or any public space and you see someone start to stare at you, you know they’re an HGTV viewer… It’s so funny because they’re trying not to stare, and then they finally ask ‘is it you?’ I was even tracked down in a clothing store and told they knew it was me because of my laugh.”

She has not commented publicly on her arrest, and it appears that her website and social media pages have all been disabled.

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