The adult chaperones on a Florida school bus being operated by a driver who was arrested for driving under the influence say they believed they were headed for a serious accident before other parents in a car managed to get the man to stop the bus.
The adult chaperones on a Florida school bus being operated by a driver who was arrested for driving under the influence say they believed they were headed for a serious accident before other parents in a car managed to get the man to stop the bus.
Maggie Hucke, a mother who was on the school bus, tells Inside Edition she called 911 after realizing something was terribly wrong with the driver. "We were begging for him to stop, stop, stop, slow down, slow down," she says. But the driver, identified by police as Keith Shifflett, 55, continued to drive through red lights, she says.
"It was pure pandemonium," she says.
Shifflett had been tasked with driving a bus full of 30 graduating high school seniors and six parents to an amusement park on Saturday. Instead, he allegedly ran three red lights and ignored the cries of his frightened passengers to pull over, authorities said.
"We're on a rented bus," Hucke tells 911. "And there's something wrong with our bus driver. And he's not being responsive and he's not stopping the bus and he's ran through a couple of reds."
"Pull over. Pull over. Stop! Stop! Stop! There's a car!" she can be heard yelling.
"It was very scary to say the least," Ann Glover, another mother on the bus, tells Inside Edition.
Two parents following the bus in their car say they realized they had to act. So they pulled in front of the bus and gradually slowed down until Shifflett stopped. He stopped the bus in the middle of the road, without his flashers on, a parent said.
When police arrived, they gave Shifflett a sobriety test, which they say he failed. One mom also says she took a photo of a cocktail in can she found in the vehicle’s garbage.
Those on the bus say they were relieved he was stopped.
"I knew something had to be done because if this guy gets up to highway speeds, we're in big trouble," student Zachary Glover tells Inside Edition.
"This outcome could have been absolutely devastating," Maggie Hucke says.
Cops said that because of Shifflett’s alleged course of conduct, in which he allegedly showed a wanton or reckless disregard for human life and safety and that he exposed 30 passengers to personal injury, he was charged with 30 counts of culpable negligence. Cops also said that because Shifflett allegedly committed an intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child, he was charged with four counts of child abuse.
The Highlands County Court Clerk told Inside Edition Digital that Shifflett had been referred to the office of the Public Defender and as of Wednesday, no plea had been entered. Inside Edition Digital confirmed that Shifflett is currently being held in the Highlands County Jail without bond.
In a statement from Shifflett’s employer, Holiday Coach Lines, President Michael Kanago said that the arrested driver had been with the company for eight years and has always passed random drug and alcohol screenings. “This has shocked everyone in our company, including his fellow drivers. He was immediately terminated when he was arrested,” Kanago told WESH. “In the 32 years Holiday has been in business, this has never happened to us.”
The teenagers were all able to safely make it to Daytona Lagoon in another bus and several other cars.
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