Drunk Bus Driver Terrifies Passengers
A fifty-five year-old bus driver from New York faced dozens of charges of child endangerment and driving while intoxicated after she took students on a terrifying bus ride while reportedly driving a school bus while intoxicated. Students apparently begged the driver to stop because she was in no condition to operate the school bus. The driver felt that the students were overreacting and continued to drive, reportedly speeding, running over a mailbox, and rolling backwards down a hill. Some students finally opened the emergency door at the back of the bus so they could get out, putting a stop to the incident. Luckily, neither the bus driver nor any of the passengers suffered any injuries. The bus driver’s attorney said that her actions were caused by a bad reaction between alcohol and some prescription medication she was taking. The criminal ramifications of her conduct are further discussed here.
Millions of parents across America entrust the safety of their children to school bus drivers every school day. Thankfully, most bus rides to and from school are uneventful and result in no injury to anyone. However, when a school bus driver drives in a negligent manner, he or she is usually putting dozens of lives at risk. Driving a school bus while under the influence would automatically be considered negligent driving in Tennessee, and may also be found by a jury to be reckless behavior to such a degree that it warrants the imposition of punitive damages. Bus drivers should understand the magnitude of the responsibility they have in transporting dozens of small children to and from school.
This responsibility places upon them a duty to drive the bus in a reasonable and safe manner to try to get the students to school and back without putting them in danger. Certainly driving a school bus while intoxicated violates this duty and endangers the lives of the bus driver and the passengers of the bus, opening the door to an extraordinary amount of potential liability in a personal injury suit should any of the students be injured during such an incident. Not only the bus driver but also the school itself, the school system, and the municipality that runs the school could be held responsible for any damages imposed by a jury or suffered by the victims of such an accident.
Source: http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/drunk.school.bus.2.1406954.html
