School Bus Driver Arrested After 5th Grader Tells 911 She Was 'Drunk'

School bus driver arrested after passenger calls 911

A school bus driver in Longview, Washington was arrested by police last week and is facing charges of reckless endangerment and driving under the influence after one of her passengers called 911 to report that she was driving erratically and was drunk.

"She was drunk," the unidentified student told a 911 dispatcher. "She passed three red lights ... and there’s still kids on there."

Catherine Maccarone, 48, was arrested by police after the 5th grader called on Sept. 12.

"Her eyes, you could tell she was drunk. Her breath sort of smelled like alcohol," the boy told a 911 dispatcher. The 5th grader told the dispatcher he called about his driver after discussing Maccarone's behavior with his mother. The mother, who does not speak English very well, told the boy to contact 911 and inform them about the incident.

According to a statement from the Longview Police Department, authorities worked with the school district to track the bus driver down and got Maccarone to pull over and meet officers.

"Officers smelled an obvious odor of intoxicants coming from Maccarone," Longview police said. "Based on the investigation, Maccarone was placed under arrest for Driving under the Influence."

While there were no children on the bus at the time police pulled her over, Maccarone "had recently completed two afternoon bus routes," and officers were "currently working to identify all of the passengers."

In a statement, Longview Public Schools said that Maccarone was placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation into the incident.

The district said the "incident that occurred is not indicative of the great work Longview Public School drivers do every day."


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