A Minnesota school bus driver was booked into the Chisago County jail Thursday morning for suspicion of DWI.
It happened at around 8:13 a.m. when the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office was notified a Rush City, Minnesota Public School bus had gone off the roadway. There was some overnight snow in the area which made roads slick.
Captain Derek Anklan says it happened near Rush City and they got a report that a public school bus had veered off the roadway. He says deputies arrived within minutes to the scene and reported observing signs of alcohol impairment in the driver.
Anklan says it's tough for everyone to understand.
"That gut feeling as a parent of, 'oh my gosh, that could have ended so much worse,' and this had enormous potential to be a lot worse," he says.
Anklan says the woman was booked into the Chisago County jail, where she is facing a number of charges.
"There are specific statutes that are directed towards school bus operation," explains Captain Anlan. "There are specific statutes in regards to it's a commercial vehicle, and then specific statutes to what we call an aggravating factor, that have to do with children."
The 59-year old driver was arrested on the scene.
A backup bus arrived and all the students involved were safely brought to school. Nobody was injured.
"Thankfully we ended up off the road in a cornfield with fresh snow, so there was no injuries to be reported at all, but it's the what-if that's really hard to digest in this situation," Anklan says.
The case is still being investigated by the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office and Rush City Public Schools Administration.