School bus driver accused of driving drunk, going off road with 49 students, MN cops say
A bus driver believed to be intoxicated drove off a Minnesota roadway while carrying dozens of students, authorities say.
Forty-nine students were aboard the Rush City Public Schools bus that drove off a Rush City road around 8:10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, according to the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office. No students were injured.
As a backup bus arrived to take the students to school, a sergeant interviewed the 59-year-old driver. The sergeant “observed signs of alcohol impairment on the driver,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The bus driver was arrested on a preliminary charge of driving while intoxicated, the sheriff said. Formal charges have not been filed as of Thursday afternoon.
The school district said it is investigating the incident “and will take appropriate action” based on its findings.
“Please be assured that the district’s top priority is the safety and security of the district’s students,” Brent Stavig, the superintendent of the school district, said in a statement. “All students have been transported to school and the District is not aware of any injuries. Action taken as a result of the District’s investigation will be taken with that priority in mind.”
Rush City is about 60 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
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