A school bus driver in suburban Detroit has been arrested after allegedly crashing a school bus with children aboard while drunk.
The driver, whose identity has not been released to the public, crashed the Utica Community Schools bus she was driving in Sterling Heights. According to authorities, the bus had gone off of the roadway and crashed into a street sign. Between 30 and 40 students were on the bus, none of them sustaining injuries.
A breath test used at the scene showed that the driver had a 0.10 percent blood-alcohol level. This level is 0.02 percent higher than the legal driving limit of 0.08.
Utica Community Schools Superintendent Robert Monroe issued a statement on Tuesday to parents concerned about the crash.
"The safety of our students is the number one priority for Utica Community Schools as we work in partnership with the Sterling Heights Police Department," said Monroe. "The individual is no longer operating a bus in Utica Community Schools, and there will be a thorough investigation as we closely follow all employee policies and procedures."
This incident is just one of several drunk driving incidents that have raised eyebrows lately. While some viral incidents are regarded as somewhat comical, others resulted in tragedy. One such case was that of Clinton Cottom driving his truck into a college football watch party in November. According to reports, Cottom arrived uninvited and was repeatedly making unwanted sexual advances towards female partygoers. After he was kicked out, he rammed his truck through several vehicles and people, killing a woman and injuring several others.
Some justice has also been served in a few recent cases. Earlier this month, the family of a teenager and grandmother killed by a drunk driver were awarded a record-breaking $301 billion in settlements. The jury had determined that Beer Belly's Sports Bar in Corpus Christi, Texas, could be held liable for the crash as they knowingly overserved the driver, who also died in the crash.
Newsweek has reached out to the Sterling Heights Police Department for comment.
Sterling Heights officers who arrived at the scene after 4 p.m. determined the crash only involved the school bus, which caused minor damage, Lieutenant Mario Bastianelli said in a news release.
After officers detected a strong smell of intoxicants on the driver's breath, a preliminary breath test was conducted.
Police said the driver was immediately arrested and taken to the Sterling Heights Police Department for processing.
The driver has not been arraigned.
Utica Community Schools sent another bus to the crash scene to take home the students home who had been on the damaged bus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
