Cape Cod Bus Driver Arrested For OUI With Students On Board
BARNSTABLE (CBS) – A Cape Cod bus driver was arrested on drunk driving charges for a second time after he allegedly was impaired while behind the wheel with several students on board.
Massachusetts State Police arrested Everett Redmond Jr. of Brewster and charged him with second offense operating under the influence of liquor along with child endangerment while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.
The incident began Friday just before 6:30 p.m. when a woman called police and said her daughter, a student at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, had called her from the bus.
Police said the girl told her mother she was getting off the bus at the next stop because she thought the driver was operating in an unsafe manner.
Officers found the bus in the Burger King Parking lot in Barnstable. Police pulled the bus over before it could get back onto Route 6 westbound.
There were five students on board at the time. All students are safe, Superintendent Robert Sanborn said in a statement released Saturday night on the school's website.
"This afternoon a Cape Destination's driver entrusted with transporting our students to and from school was taken into police custody after one of our students called her mother to report her bus driver was driving erratically," he said. "The student's mother contacted local police and informed them of the situation."
"Both mom and student are heroes today as they kept the driver from continuing his route," he added. "We are grateful for the quick thinking of our Cape Cod Tech student and her mother, as well as the Massachusetts State Police and Barnstable Police Department who ensured the safety of our students."
Police remained on scene until another bus arrived to bring the students home.
Redmond is scheduled to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Monday at 9 a.m.