Chisago County woman sentenced after driving school bus full of students off road
RUSH CITY, Minn. — A southeastern Minnesota woman has been sentenced to jail for being drunk while driving a bus full of kids off a roadway earlier this year.
Kara Ffrench, 60, was convicted of one count of driving while intoxicated. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to 11 days in jail with 349 days in jail stayed for four years, according to court records, with four days credit for time served. She'll have four years of supervised probation.
Court documents say that on Feb. 15, a property owner in Rush City called 911 after a bus got stuck in their cornfield and was pinned against a basketball post.
A Chisago County deputy who responded to the incident noted "a moderate odor of alcoholic beverage" coming from Ffrench. She allegedly told the deputy her "foot did not find the brake" before she crashed near the area where she typically turns around during her route.
The deputy said Ffrench exited the bus holding an insulated coffee mug and a plastic water bottle, and the contents of the mug smelled like a mixture of coffee and an added "alcoholic beverage," according to court records.
Ffrench failed the field sobriety test after telling the deputy she hadn't consumed alcohol in days.
Court documents state Ffrench agreed to a breath test at the scene and was taken into custody after blowing a 0.199, which is more than twice the legal limit. She then took another breath test in the Chisago County Jail, which registered at 0.17 less than two hours after the crash.
More than 40 children were on the bus at the time of the incident but no injuries were reported.
NOTE: The story was updated on Nov. 7, 2024 with sentencing information.