A North Carolina school bus driver was arrested on Wednesday afternoon for DUI with kids on board her bus, reports WLOS.com.
The accused, 46-year-old Angell Benson, was driving a school bus carrying two children down the Smokey Mountain Expressway when she crossed the dividing line and almost ran off the road, according to the police report. An officer saw her driving erratically and pulled her over.
A breathalyzer test revealed Benson had a 0.19 BAC. The legal limit for most motorists is 0.08, but North Carolina regulates commercial drivers at 0.04. Police also reported that Benson performed poorly on sobriety tests, such as the one-leg stand.
Benson was arrested and charged with driving while impaired and failure to maintain lane control, and police said additional charges may be forthcoming. The state also revoked her CDL.
Benson was reportedly transporting the children to an after-school program that is held in facilities owned by Haywood County Schools. However, the school does not run the program, own the bus or employ the driver.
Editor’s Note: This is the third instance in as many weeks of a school bus driver being arrested for a DUI while driving schoolchildren. Similar incidents occurred in Georgia and South Carolina the last week of August.
