Tyngsboro School Bus Driver Arrested For OUI After Crash
TYNGSBORO (CBS) - A school bus driver was arrested for operating under the influence after a crash on Monday afternoon.
Police said 37-year-old Erik Paulik, who was driving a small yellow school bus, was tailgating a minivan school bus before striking it from behind at the intersection of Middlesex and Westford Roads at around 2:45 p.m.
The crash caused rear-end damage to the minivan bus, including a broken rear window. The minivan bus was also pushed into the intersection.
Donna Livermore says her daughter was driving the van when it was struck. She says the crash caused her daughter to lose a baby. "She had a miscarriage and she is in a neck brace now," Livermore tells WBZ-TV.
The small yellow school bus contained two adult bus monitors and four students, while the minivan bus had four student passengers. The students were leaving a school in Chelmsford.
Paulik, who's from Manchester, New Hampshire, failed field sobriety tests on the scene and was arrested.
He allegedly blew .27 on the Breathalyzer test.
He is being held on $10,000 bail before his arraignment at Lowell District Court on Tuesday.
The bus company, STS Transit Services, has placed him and the two bus monitors on leave.
"We are concerned about situations like this, and we are looking at safety procedures. The employee and 2 bus monitors have been placed on administrative leave pending investigation," STS Transit said in a statement.
The company says the Paulik had been employed for six months and had no prior issues.
