School bus driver Catherine Etheridge, 49, was charged with DUI and 16 counts of endangering a child on Monday, says police. (Walton County Sheriff's office)
A Georgia school bus driver was charged with DUI Monday after police responded to reports of a bus packed with school children driving recklessly on the road, authorities said.
Catherine Etheridge, 49, was pulled over by police at Loganville Middle School and removed from the bus, where a substitute driver finished the route that was carrying 31 students, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. She was found with alcohol and prescription pills in her purse, said police.
Etheridge had no prior history of DUIs. She was fired from her previous job with the Gwinnett school system due to “unsatisfactory performance,” one month before driving for the Walton school system, Channel 2 reported.
The 16 students onboard the bus were all under the age of 14. Etheridge has been fired, Walton school officials said.
She posted $25,762 bail and has been released from jail.
Aimee Elmore, a parent, told Channel 2 that she hopes Etheridge gets a lot of jail time.
"That’s putting the lives of our kids in danger and anybody else on the road,” she said.
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