A Georgia bus driver is facing drunk driving and dozens more charges after drunkenly driving a school bus filled with children into a ditch on Friday, according to local officials.
Jeffrey Tucker, 59, was arrested by Georgia State Patrol and charged with driving under the influence, failure to maintain lane, and 40 counts of reckless conduct, said Superintendent Tony Young in a statement with the Board of Education, according to Fox News.
Witnesses told WSB-TV they estimate 40 children were on board at the time of the crash. Pickens County Schools and investigators claim there were no injuries, while several parents have come forward claiming injuries ranging from concussions to psychological damage, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
“Both of the little girls got home they were crying,” one mother with children on board told the outlet. “This morning one woke up and said she’s still shaken.”
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Others claim their children are too scared to take the bus again.
“[My son] is probably going to be doing after school (sic) because I don’t trust Pickens County to make sure the bus drivers are safe to be with,” said Chelsea Medley, whose first grader was on the bus just before the crash. “The bus is barely on two wheels and had that been anywhere else on this mountain, they would have toppled over and hurt every single one of those kids.”
Tucker was busted after one of the children on board told her mother that the driver smelled of booze, according to a mother speaking with Fox 5 Atlanta.
“We called 911 and reported he smelled like alcohol, and they said they would go back and breathalyze him,” she said.
The Pickens County School District hasn’t said whether Tucker will be fired over the incident but assured parents that the school district is handling the case with the utmost care.
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“The District takes this matter very seriously; student safety is our highest priority and utmost concern. Once law enforcement has completed its investigation, we will conduct our own to review the facts and circumstances surrounding this egregious event,” Young said.
