Pocono News Section

School bus driver suspected of driving drunk

School bus driver suspected of driving drunk - Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 6:01PM EST

Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 @06:01pm EST

A school bus driver is suspected of driving his bus while drunk.

State police are investigating 52 year old Gabriel Stevens who drove a Chiverella Incorporated bus for the Hazleton Area school district.

If Chiverella incorporated driver Gabriel Stevens drank and then drove a school bus, it doesn't sit well with Hazelton Area superintendent Frank Victor.

"We're very concerned as a school district. Safety of our students is our number one concern and when you hear something like that, it's very upsetting to know," says Victor.

Victor says Stevens drove a late afternoon route in the Freeland area Friday.

State police say he crashed here on Alberdeen Road in Wright Township just after 6 o'clock, about two hours after his last bus route stop.

He failed a sobriety test, and was taken to the hospital.

Blood tests were taken there to determine his blood alcohol content.

Victor says this is his first problem with Chiverella bus drivers.

"He has been terminated to my understanding, so we'll take it from there and continue to work with the bus company and hopefully they monitor their employees very closely," says Victor.

Chiverella Inc. says it had all the steps in place to make sure something like this wouldn't happen.

It makes drivers sign a contract prohibiting them from driving busses after hours, and drivers have to take random drug and alcohol tests."

Chiverella wouldn't talk on camera, but the company says it's very upset about Steven's arrest.

He was fired over the weekend, and didn't drive any routes after the arrest.

State police can't press charges until Stevens blood alcohol content test come back from a lab.

The trooper that arrested Stevens tells me that could take up to 3 weeks, maybe longer.