A New York school bus driver has been arrested after getting drunk and taking kids - some as young as five - to McDonald's, the New York Post reports.
According to the publication, Lashonda Griffin, 29, was arrested at the Gates Chili School District’s bus depot on Friday, October 16.
After dropping the students off at school, she reportedly passed out with a blood alcohol content that was higher than the legal limit.
Per Syracuse.com, there were six students between the ages of five and 16 years old on the bus while on the way to Northstar Christian Academy in Rochester that morning.
According to one of the students, Griffin told them, "We’re going to stop at McDonald’s quick, don’t tell nobody."
She then allegedly brought at least two of the kids with her to McDonald's to get some breakfast.
"To be honest, I was a little bit confused by it," an exchange student, Tu Tran, told WROC.
According to police, none of the students were on the bus when the 29-year-old was found incapacitated behind the wheel, before later failing a sobriety test.
"We were definitely very lucky in this situation that all of the children were delivered to school from home safely and that the driver had returned back to the bus garage," Gates Police Lt. Robert Long told Syracuse.com.
In a separate case, this school bus driver was caught drinking on camera while driving 32 children to school:Long also said that Griffin faces several counts of DWI and child endangerment. After being issued an appearance ticket, she was released.
School authorities say Griffin has been working with the district on a probationary period and they’re "taking time to review safety protocols with all drivers."
In a statement, school officials said:
"The safety of students and employees is the district’s top priority, and we are very grateful that no one was harmed as a result of this individual’s actions.
"We are very sorry that these students and families in this community have been impacted by the unfathomable actions of one person."
"While the district cannot comment directly on personnel matters, we can say that this is an egregious violation of our policies and practices and will never be tolerated," officials added.
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