A Montana man faces 28 felony charges for criminal endangerment and a DUI charge after police arrested him for allegedly driving a school bus while under the influence of drugs.
Keith Adam Jones, 46, was charged with a felony for each student he drove to Ben Steele Middle School after a school resource officer with the Billings Police Department launched a DUI investigation as soon as the bus arrived at the middle school, according to the Billings Gazette.
The officer was told by a school staff member that several students “reported erratic and unsafe driving behavior” while riding on the First Student bus, the publication reported.
Billings Public Schools contracts First Student for busing; the district does not hire bus drivers directly.
The Cincinnati-based company said the driver was fired and that it regularly uses random drug testing on its drivers.
“We are incredibly disappointed by our former driver’s actions. First Student has a zero-tolerance policy for employees whose actions may put others at risk. Behavior such as this is completely unacceptable and at odds with what we stand for as a company,” First Student said in an email to the Gazette.
