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A school bus driver was arrested after driving drunk with six students on board and stopping at a fast-food outlet for breakfast.
School officials reported the incident to police after learning that Lashonda Griffin made an unauthorized stop on Oct. 16. The driver had passed by a local McDonalds branch in Rochester in New York, as per CBS-affiliate WROC on the same day.
Mariah Ferris, one of the students on board, also noted that Griffin told them not to tell anyone about the stop at the restaurant. Tu Tran, an exchange student living with Mariah, was on board as well.
Though Griffin was drunk during the trip, she still managed to get the students to their destination unharmed. However, police later found Griffin passed out behind the wheel in a garage.
Police officer Lt. Robert Long also pointed out that this was the first time he encountered an incident like this in his 18 years as a law enforcer. He then cautioned other drivers about the dangers of drunk driving.
“Many things can happen; you can kill somebody else, kill yourself, kill innocent bystanders,” he said in the report. “In this case operating a school bus with children on board brings it to a whole new level.”
Though it is a new situation for Long, Mariah’s father, David, explained that he had seen Griffin exhibit odd behavior before. He mentioned that there had been instances where she would show up at their home extremely early to pick up the kids but eventually leave without them.
“When I got the phone call and finding out what had happened… that she was arrested driving my child, and my exchange student around I was floored,” David expressed.
“Bottom line is this driver had problems with picking up my child before,” he was quoted as saying. “And when I heard about this I was beside myself.”
Griffin has since been charged with multiple criminal charges including child endangerment and driving while intoxicated. Following her arrest, she was issued an appearance ticket and released. There is still no schedule for her next session in court, as per report.
The school district that hired Griffin has also apologized for the incident and promised to review safety protocols with their other drivers. Ryan Arcadio /ra
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