Yesterday, a school bus driver crashed with 5 children from the Lewiston-Altura school district on board. When Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand arrived at the scene, he smelled alcohol on the bus driver’s breath and noted that he was unable to keep his balance.
Failing the field sobriety test, the driver was arrested and taken to the Winona County jail. His blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.09 percent, according to news reports. Under Minnesota law, it is a gross misdemeanor for a school bus driver to have a BAC above 0.0 if a child under the age of 16 is in the vehicle:
Minnesota Statutes, Section 169A.31
Subd. 1. Crime described. It is a crime for any person to drive, operate, or be in
physical control of any class of school bus or Head Start bus within this state
when there is physical evidence present in the person’s body of the
consumption of any alcohol.
Subd. 2. Gross misdemeanor alcohol-related school bus or Head Start bus
driving. A person who violates subdivision 1 is guilty of gross misdemeanor
alcohol-related school bus or Head Start bus driving if:
a. the violation occurs while a child under the age of 16 is in the vehicle, if
the child is more than 36 months younger than the violator.
According to the state patrol, the accident happened around 4:45 p.m. yesterday on Fern Valley Drive near County Road 28 between Altura and Rollingstone. The bus crossed the center line, went down a ditch and struck several trees.
Contact our bus accident lawyers for a free case evaluation and information about a personal injury lawsuit.