FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Authorities arrested a school bus driver Wednesday to face charges including at least 15 counts of child neglect after sheriff’s deputies said he drove a school bus loaded with dozens of children onboard while he was drunk, WFTV reported.
“This drunk thought it was okay to endanger 40 children and other drivers by driving a loaded school bus significantly impaired,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said Thursday in a statement. “Thankfully, no one was hurt as a result of his actions. I commend the employee who reported him to school officials.”
Deputies said a co-worker talked to supervisors Wednesday afternoon after Mark Michael McNeill, 60, showed up at work smelling like alcohol. The Ormond Beach resident ended up leaving in a bus not assigned to him for his usual route beginning at Buddy Taylor Middle School, officials said. At the school, he picked up about 40 students.
Authorities said school transportation officials tried to contact McNeill by radio, but he ignored them until later, when he used the radio to report that he was having a medical emergency. A supervisor found him on his route, at which time deputies said McNeill got off the bus and fell to the ground, complaining that he couldn’t breathe.
Officials with Flagler County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and took McNeill to a hospital. Investigators said McNeill attempted to run after deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the hospital. He was apprehended on hospital property a short while later.
Deputies said they could smell alcohol coming from McNeil, who “was showing signs of intoxication while resisting arrest.” In video released by authorities, McNeill could be heard repeatedly yelling for deputies to stop hitting him as one held him against a sheriff’s office vehicle and two others handcuffed him.
Subsequent tests showed that McNeill had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit in the state of Florida, officials said. He was arrested on charges of child neglect, driving under the influence with passengers under 18 and resisting officers without violence, deputies said.
Days before McNeill’s arrest, officials with Florida Highway Patrol cited him for failure to obey a stop sign following a school bus crash on the same route, according to investigators. Officials said Friday that he could face additional charges of child neglect.
School district officials in Flagler County told WFTV that McNeill has been placed on administrative leave with pay as they investigate the incident.
“Flagler Schools recognizes parents place the safety of their children in our hands each and every day,” officials said. “That is a responsibility we do not take lightly. We will fully investigate these serious allegations and charges.”