A school bus driver in Utah may face several charges after he was accused of operating the vehicle with three times the legal blood-alcohol content while students were on board.
On September 15, a 57-year-old man driving a school bus for the Sevier School District was making afternoon rounds to pick up students and bring them home. One of the stops was a local elementary school, where he picked up at least six youngsters.
Someone whose name has not been released notified the authorities and expressed concern, telling them they believed the bus driver had been consuming alcohol before retrieving the children.
The man was parked at South Sevier Middle School when the authorities found and boarded the bus to investigate the claim. They reported that there was a minimum of 12 students sitting inside the vehicle. As soon as the deputy interacted with the driver, they reported that they could smell alcohol.
The school made alternative arrangements and put the students on a different bus with a new driver to get them home.
The driver told the authorities that he hadn’t had any alcoholic beverages since the prior evening. The deputy asserted that the man was intoxicated, and when he took a roadside sobriety test, he allegedly performed poorly. He was given a field breath test, and it allegedly showed a positive result for alcohol.
The driver was taken into custody and booked into Sevier County Jail. When he arrived, the man reportedly consented to take a breath test. It gave a result of a .15 blood-alcohol level: triple Utah’s legal limit of .05. He may face charges of six counts of DUI with a passenger under the age of 16. According to records, the man is no longer in jail.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a DUI offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.