BELLEVILLE ? Belleville City Manager Allen Bachelor has been accused of three misdemeanor offenses stemming from a Dec. 28 crash of a city minivan he was driving.

Bachelor was served with a formal complaint at his Belleville city office Friday. The complaint was filed Wednesday by Republic County Atty. Frank Spurney Jr.

The city manager for more than three years, Bachelor announced his resignation Jan. 13, effective Feb. 8.

The complaint alleges that Bachelor gave false information on the accident, obstructed the official duty of Republic County sheriff’s deputy Jimmy Shepek and failed to stop and remain at the scene of the crash.

“He led us to believe that an accident happened out here by the city airport,” sad Republic County Sheriff Ron Blad. “The accident actually happened southeast of Belleville on a gravel road.”

The sheriff said the crash occurred just west of the Penn Road and 210 Road intersection. Blad wasn’t able to recall the time of the crash. He said Bachelor reported the crash during the evening of Dec. 28.

The sheriff wouldn’t say why it’s suspected the wreck occurred at a different location. He referred comment to Spurney, who was out of town Friday. Bachelor reported that he was “coming from Cuba, out driving around, checking on some things,” Blad said. “He swerved to miss a deer, lost control and hit a tree, is what he told us.”

Bachelor, a former Kansas Highway Patrol trooper, said Thursday for a story in Friday’s Salina Journal that he resigned because it was “time for a change,” and that he had done nothing wrong.

Called Friday, Bachelor said the Dec. 28 wreck had nothing to do with his decision to resign.

He referred comment to his attorney, Bill Navis, Belleville, who could not be reached Friday.

Belleville Mayor Brad Chatfield said Friday that he and the City Council were aware of the crash, and that Bachelor was authorized to drive the minivan.

Chatfield said he knew about the crash when he was interviewed Thursday by the Salina Journal about Bachelor’s resignation.

“I would not say that this (the crash) was a reason he resigned,” Chatfield said. “I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I had already put it out of my mind.

“My attitude was that it was in the court’s hands. We dealt with it and talked about it as a council, and as far as I was concerned, it was out of our hands.”

Chatfield said he was comfortable working with Bachelor.

“As long as what he did didn’t disqualify him legally from doing his job, we all felt that he could overcome it and that we could get through this,” he said.

Rumors have been “flying like crazy,” he said.

“That’s that sad part of something like this. There’s only one person who knows what really happened, and that’s Allen.

“I just wish there was something I could do to help this situation.”