The driver on the bus says: “booze on back, booze on back…” field trip bus driver busted for DUI
(TRAPPE, MD) — A commercial bus driver transporting school children back from a field trip was arrested by Maryland State Police tonight in Talbot County and charged with driving under the influence.
The driver is identified as Joseph R. Johnson, 45, of Dover, Delaware. He is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Additional charges may be placed as the investigation continues.
At about 5:30 p.m. today, the Maryland State Police Easton Barrack received a 911 call from a citizen who was following a commercial bus eastbound on Rt. 50 and said the bus was weaving all over the road. As troopers were en route to intercept the bus, another call was received from a parent chaperone on the bus. The parent said due to the bus driver’s erratic driving, the adults on the bus had insisted he pull to the shoulder and wait for the troopers to arrive. The charter bus, owned by Dawson Tour Bus Services, Inc., of Camden, Delaware, stopped on eastbound Rt. 50 west of Porpoise Creek Road, in Trappe.
The driver had driven from Calvert County to Trappe, a distance of more than ninety-seven miles that takes one hour and fifty-four minutes, while intoxicated, including driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Maryland State Police report that upon the arrival of a Maryland trooper; that he conducted an investigation and based on observations and evidence, took Johnson into custody. Johnson was taken to the Easton Barrack for additional testing and was ultimately charged with DUI. The Maryland State Police does not release results of blood alcohol testing prior to trial except when they do.
The driver had been transporting 30 children and ten adults back to Bennett Middle School in Wicomico County. The students were returning from a field trip to Calvert Cliffs.
A sober driver from the commercial bus company was summoned to the scene. While the children were waiting, a trooper assigned to the Aviation Command treated them all to pizza he purchased and delivered to the scene along the shoulder of Rt. 50.
All of the children and adults have been returned to the school safely.
A sober driver from the commercial bus company was summoned to the scene. While the children were waiting, a trooper assigned to the Aviation Command treated them all to pizza he purchased and delivered to the scene along the shoulder of Rt. 50.
