School bus driver, believed to be ‘highly intoxicated’ at a bar, arrested on Iron Range route the next morning

A bus driver for the St. Louis County school district was arrested Wednesday morning pending charges of driving while intoxicated with 17 students onboard during his morning route.

The 44-year-old driver, who was taking students from Iron Range communities to South Ridge School in Culver, Minn., is in St. Louis County jail facing two misdemeanor charges. The Star Tribune does not name suspects until they are formally charged.

The students were uninjured and doing well, according to a news release from St. Louis County. District staff took custody of the bus and students from the school that serves kindergarten through high school. Parents were notified.

“The safety of our students and staff is foremost,” said superintendent Reggie Engebritson, who added that the district is following the lead of the sheriff’s department.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department was contacted just after midnight on Wednesday by a person who reported that a local school bus driver was drinking alcohol while off duty. The person was concerned that he was highly intoxicated and would not be sober in time for work the next morning.

Deputies called the bus driver in the morning and he said he wasn’t working — but officials from the school district confirmed that he had started his route. Law enforcement officials found the driver and his bus. He was arrested without incident. His preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.16% — above the legal limit to drive. Bus drivers are not allowed to have any amount of alcohol in their system while operating a school bus.