When you send your children off to school in the morning, the last thing you should have to worry about is their bus driver being safe. It is rare that we hear about a school bus driver being drunk while on duty. Sadly, that is exactly what happened early October in Columbia County, Georgia, with a school bus driver charged with DUI.
The principal of Baker Place Elementary School realized something was wrong when one of the school bus drivers did not move ahead in line to pick up their students. The principal entered the bus to see what was wrong. He found one of the county bus drivers, Jessica Avrett, fast asleep in her seat. He smelled the odor of alcohol as soon as he entered the bus.
The principal called the police right away. Deputies were dispatched to the elementary school and approached Avrett. They found that she was in fact intoxicated. They charged her with both DUI and open container. She actually had a bottle of alcohol in the school bus with her. And, she was about to pick up dozens of students and drive them home while intoxicated.
The authorities did not indicate what Avrett’s blood alcohol concentration was at the time of her arrest.
Avrett was taken to the Columbia County Jail and was booked on both counts – DUI and open container. She was released on $2,000 bond. There is no indication as to whether she will be fired or not. There has also been no direct comment from the school. However, the school did fully cooperate with the police.
If you’ve been charged with DUI and your professional license is at risk, you need to contact our office right away. Let one of our DUI defense lawyers help you protect your rights.
Source: https://www.wjbf.com/csra-news/columbia-county-school-bus-driver-arrested-charged-with-dui/