Police Arrest School Bus Driver For OUI During Return Trip To Hingham

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PEMBROKE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A return trip carrying children and adults from a basketball event at Plymouth North High School was cut short Thursday evening, after Massachusetts State Police Troopers arrested the bus driver for Operating Under the Influence while at the wheel.

According to the MSP, Bethann Sweeney was tasked to bring 28 passengers aged between 14 to 20 and two adult supervisors back from the Hingham United Basketball Special Olympics closing ceremony. Shortly after the yellow school bus departed Plymouth, passengers told police they noticed Sweeney was driving erratically on Route 3 North: veering in and out of lanes and running a red traffic light.

Witness accounts say at one point, the bus swerved across the road, heading towards Route 3 South (the opposite direction of the destination). When passengers told Sweeney she was driving the wrong way, she allegedly ran a red traffic light to merge onto Route 3 North, running over multiple rumble strips in the process.

A passenger onboard called police— State Troopers caught up to the school bus at Exit 27 in Pembroke and pulled it over in a nearby Friendly's parking lot.

Troopers say that when Sweeney got off the bus as instructed, they could smell a "strong odor" of alcohol and noticed she was unsteady on her feet. Sweeney's demeanor was enough cause for Troopers to order her to complete a series standardized field sobriety tests, officials said.

"Upon administration of the tests -- which included administration of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, requests to perform a nine-step walk and turn and a one-legged stand, and requests to recite the alphabet, and counting backwards – the Troopers formed the opinion, based on the test results and their prior observations, that Sweeney was under the influence of alcohol," a spokesperson for the MSP said in a statement.

Responding Troopers say they found a 23.7 ounce Poland Springs water bottle in Sweeney's belongings that was half empty and smelled of alcohol.

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Once in police custody, Sweeney allegedly refused to take a breathalyzer test, a decision that automatically suspended her license. She was brought to South Shore Hospital for evaluation, and blood drawn from Sweeney during a routine medical check was ordered to be held for analysis.

Sweeney allegedly told police during the booking process that she was a bus driver working for the Town of Hingham. A bail commissioner set her bail at $2,540 cash, though Sweeney did not post and was held overnight into Friday.

The suspect was set for arraignment Friday morning in Plymouth District Court on OUI, child endangerment, having an open container of alcohol while driving, and negligent operation charges.

WBZ NewsRadio reached out to Hingham Public Schools for a statement, but have not received a response at the time of posting.

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