Student Wakes Allegedly Sleeping Bus Driver 'Barreling' Down Highway (VIDEO)

After reportedly falling asleep while driving a school bus full of kids down a highway in Tacoma, Wash., the 65-year-old driver has been put on administrative leave, KCPQ-TV reports.

According to the report, a student noticed the situation and "grabbed the driver's arm to wake him."

"All I can say is thank God he was paying attention and acted the way he did," Roxanne Moore, the mother of a student on the bus, told the station. "Because I don't want to think about what would have happened."

The incident is currently under investigation, and whether the driver has a medical condition that could have caused the ill-timed snooze is currently unclear.

Last month, a New Jersey bus driver was charged with drunk driving after a student texted her mother, saying, "Mommy I think our bus driver is drunk she's not driving right." Authorities say the driver, Carole Crokett, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.25 percent, which is five times the legal limit for operating a commercial vehicle.

In Maryland, 20 people were sent to the hospital after a school bus full of students was involved in a three-vehicle accident. The accident was caused by 45-year-old truck driver John Patrick Kravats, who was arrested on a DUI charge.

Comments

[Brooke Steele]

04:56 PM on 12/10/2011

Maybe old people drive school busses because it's pretty much a part time job and a younger person can't support a family on the pay. However, combined with retirement or social security, it's a good gig?

[Patrick Fogarty]

10:12 AM on 12/09/2011

This was a terrible thing to happen and it is fortunate that no-one got hurt . But is this education news ? Since when is a school bus part of the curriculum ? Are students given a pass or fail grade for riding the bus ? If that is the case then parents bringing their children can be concidered home schooling .

[judgeone]

02:01 PM on 12/08/2011

Is this a true accusation? The mother of a child says her child saved a bus full of kids???? If you were a bus driver full of noisy rowdy kids, would you "tune them out" in order to concentrate on the road?

[Jasonperkins]

02:00 PM on 12/08/2011

too old, driving when sleeping is as dangerous as drunk driving.........

[kinnycut]

09:09 PM on 12/09/2011

I drive a school bus and at 51 years old I am one of the younger school bus drivers here. Most of our school bus drivers are older than this man. We had a driver here that drove until he had an accident at the age of 88. We have another driver who is over 80 and still driving. Most of these people hire on as bus drivers after they have already had other careers. They are people who are at the age where they are already receiving Social Security or just a couple of years in front of getting it. You obviously do not know that there is no mandatory retirement age for public school bus drivers. You are allowed to drive a school bus as long as you can pass a physical every year and there is no age limit for new hires either. Even at 80 all you have to do to be a public school bus driver is take a four week training course, pass a background, pass a physical, and pass a drug test. Most people do not realize it or care, but the most dangerous part of a child's school day is the bus ride to and from school. Not because of drivers like these, but because it is the only part of the day that children for all intents and purposes are left unsupervised on vehicles that are deliberately overcrowded with students to save money.

[Jasonperkins]

02:13 AM on 12/22/2011

too old

[Bernonika]

01:39 PM on 12/08/2011

I feel TERRIBLE for this bus driver, he has a squeaky clean driving record, and if he is working at 65 years old, then he is cleary just trying to make ends meet. Of all the people in the world, I bet no one is as regretful of the situation as he. The thoughts that must be going through his head, the self-punishment for what could have happened.

I do wish the best for this older man, I truly, truly do. It was clearly an accident that no one regrets more than himself, I don't believe a harsh punishment is necessary.
Imagine if it were you. Or your father. So sad.

[lstamperholic]

03:05 PM on 12/08/2011

I agree to a point. The driver should not be disciplined until he has a physical and is checked for sleep apnea. He is very likely to have it without knowing it. Most people have it and never find out until something serious happens.

[elizabe555]

09:55 PM on 12/08/2011

sleep apnea is a condition in which you stop breathing during sleep. More likely, he possibly has a condition related to narcolepsy (uncontrollably falling asleep). He could also be on medications that cause drowsiness. Either way, this could have been tragic and I hope he was evaluated medically (if not he should have been) before being cleared to drive a school bus full of children.

[bmitche]

01:17 PM on 12/08/2011

I'm sure this guy's bus driving days are over.

[sam i is]

01:01 PM on 12/08/2011

"Barreling" what are they trying to insinuate, that he was doing 90 and weaving across all the lanes. I guess if a news story is pretty boring they have to do something to try and spice it up. News is a farce as they try to make a story of nothing.

[Meowlady2]

03:18 PM on 12/08/2011

Ironic that you're here commenting on it.

[irinalaw]

12:42 PM on 12/08/2011

The bus driver should be criminally charged and fired not administrative leave. He could have killed all the kids! If he had a medical condition, then I can understand why this may have happened but then he shouldn't be driving a school bus at all. The safety risk is way too much.

[sam i is]

12:56 PM on 12/08/2011

So your saying he can drive as long as he isn't a school bus driver huh? Don't let your emotions and children being involved influence your comments. Oh my God, children are involved, we should hang him from the nearest tree!!!

[irinalaw]

01:14 PM on 12/08/2011

Don't put words in my mouth. I don't think people should drive at all if they are under medication that makes them drowsy.

[Pierre Fontaine]

12:36 PM on 12/08/2011

you can tell that weird blonde lady practices in front a of a mirror wtf is wrong with her head is it going to fall off?

[cmcaledonia]

12:50 PM on 12/08/2011

I like her, she talks very clear and really is good at doing her job reporting the news... She reminds of the grandaughter i always wanted."

[Pierre Fontaine]

01:16 PM on 12/08/2011

Awww-still sucks

[nopalin4prez]

03:12 PM on 12/08/2011

You know what's wrong....???

1. The red shot eyes
2. The crook in her mouth as she talks while bobbing that head left to right.
3. What's that red stuff on her neck?

[killerb83]

12:34 PM on 12/08/2011

Is that Drew Barrymore playing the bumbling reporter in a romantic comedy? When is she going to start crying?

[Pierre Fontaine]

12:34 PM on 12/08/2011

annoying host...why is the geezer driving a bus? he/she needs to be sitting at home wearing a pile of cats

[cmcaledonia]

12:32 PM on 12/08/2011

Being a bus driver is'nt one of the jobs you can sleep on... pehaps the guy should get himself a job working as a security guard instead."

[omountainman]

02:44 PM on 12/08/2011

A Walmart Greeter is more appropriate, since most of them are asleep at the wheel!

[jdnich29]

11:57 AM on 12/08/2011

we don't allow 65 years old to fly a plane so why in the world would you allow a 65 year old to drive A BUS load of children?????

[PoodleMom206]

11:50 AM on 12/08/2011

Why do we have to have that young blond woman explain to us what the story is? Ever since she arrived on "Morning Rush", I barely watch it.

[AccuracyInReading]

11:48 AM on 12/08/2011

It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of bus rides end safely. According to one industry bus safety web site "more than 480,000 school buses deliver 26 million students to school safely and reliably" every day with over "10 billion" trips a year. Even given the possible bias of an industry group, the few incidents that do happen are news precisely because they are so rare. The student should be congratulated for his perception and quick action, and the driver should be evaluated for his fitness to continue in the profession.