Local
Bus driver facing charges following accident
By TESA CULLI
tesa.culli@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — A woman who wrecked a Hamilton County Unit 10 school bus while students were on board is now facing misdemeanor and felony charges in Jefferson County.
Tonya Glass, 41, of McLeansboro, passed out behind the wheel of the bus while she was driving on East Littlewood Road near the Hamilton/Jefferson County line at 3:43 p.m. on May 27 during an afternoon bus route.
According to officers at the scene, after Glass passed out, the bus drifted off the road, struck a culvert and a tree. When the bus came to a stop, students turned off the key to the ignition and some went to a nearby house for help. Students attempted to open the exit doors on the bus but it took emergency personnel to get the doors open.
Glass was taken to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital and tickets were issued for failure to reduce speed and driving under the influence. Formal charges have been pending an investigation which was conducted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Illinois State Police Crime lab.
Tuesday, misdemeanor and felony charges were filed against Glass by Jefferson County State’s Attorney Jeff Bradley, after testing and evidence from the accident were turned over to his office, according to information released by both offices.
The charges accuse Glass of aggravated driving while under the influence of drugs and driving under the influence of drugs in that she was in physical control of the school bus at a time when she was under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs to a degree that rendered her incapable of safely driving while children 18 years old and younger were on board the bus.
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