Delaware County school bus driver Christine Rogers was arrested last week and charged with a DUI, ABC Philadelphia reported. Police say her blood-alcohol concentration was 18 times the legal limit for school bus drivers, recorded at .374 percent.
While the legal BAC limit for most Pennsylvania drivers is .08 percent, bus drivers are held to the much lower threshold of .02 percent.
Even though she has yet to be convicted of the crime, as a Philadelphia DUI lawyer would be the first to remind us, Christine Rogers was immediately fired. She drove for the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District for 10 years.
Motorist Cesar Martinez noticed the bus being driven erratically near Route 3 last Monday and called 911. He then followed the bus into a Swarthmore neighborhood, where he witnessed the bus damage a street sign, some bushes and small trees.
A 16-year-old student was on the bus when she was arrested, but there were no injuries reported.
Police told reporters that they sensed a strong odor of alcohol when they stopped the bus and that she failed a battery of field sobriety tests, followed by the .374 percent reading from a breathalyzer test.
They also found a full-sized bottle of vodka and a water bottle full of vodka near her purse.
According to district officials, bus drivers are subject to random drug and alcohol testing, which Christine Rogers has never failed. Superintendent Rudolph Rubeis made the following statement:
"The incident is bizarre. I have apologized to the parent of the child involved."
Brian Craig, Swarthmore's chief of police, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the boy on the bus was "really shaken up" and that the officer spent considerable time trying to convince him that "it was OK to get off the bus."
Related Resources:
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DUI - Plea Bargains (FindLaw)
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Pennsylvania DUI Penalties (FindLaw KnowledgeBase)
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Search Philadelphia DUI Attorneys (FindLaw)
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