North Carolina bus driver cited for DWI alleging cough medicine
A school bus driver, whose medical condition requires her to take oxygen, has been arrested on charges of driving while impaired. The 50-year-old Dunn, North Carolina, woman was reportedly in an accident Tuesday morning in Cumberland County. The 22-year veteran bus driver, whose driving record is spotless, is facing DWI charges, and has also been cited for reckless driving and failing to reduce speed, according to the Highway Patrol.
Police say the woman’s bus, which had middle school and high school students aboard, rolled into the back of a stopped vehicle at an intersection around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday morning. Law enforcement says the bus was moving at five miles per hour or less when it bumped into the back of a stopped Chevrolet. No injuries were reported in the accident, according to law enforcement.
An assistant superintendent of the county schools says the bus driver was not using her oxygen on the bus. He says the longer the driver went without her oxygen, the more it affected her judgment. The lack of oxygen, however, is not a part of the allegations against the woman.
Law enforcement claims the woman had taken some cough medicine containing Codeine at some point before driving the bus. As a result of the allegations, law enforcement has cited the bus driver for the charges, including the serious North Carolina DWI charges.
The 22-year veteran bus driver has been suspended as a result of the incident, pending further investigation by school officials and the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Source: Fayette Observer, “Cumberland Schools bus driver charged with driving while impaired after accident,” Oct. 20, 2011
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