MENTOR, Ohio — A Mentor school bus driver is under investigation and out of a job following reports she drove students to school while intoxicated.
According to Mentor police, they received a call last Friday morning shortly before 10 a.m. from Mentor Public Schools for a report of alcohol use involving one of their drivers. When police arrived, the driver in question had already been removed from duty and sent home by administration staff.
In a statement sent to 3News, the school district shared the following letter sent to parents from Superintendent Craig Heath:
"I am writing this morning to make you aware your child(ren)'s bus driver (Bus #60, Route #1) is no longer working for Mentor Schools after an incident that happened on Friday, April 5. A district employee noticed the driver seemed impaired and reported it. While the transportation supervisor responded quickly, she was not able to intervene prior to the driver completing her morning route to the high school. At that time, the driver was removed from duty and has not returned to work since. Along with our investigation, we immediately notified the Ohio Highway Patrol and Mentor Police about what happened.
"We are grateful this concern was brought to our attention so we could take action quickly. We treat every report we receive about the safety of our students, staff and schools very seriously."
With the driver no longer working for Mentor schools, police are currently investigating the situation. However, the woman has not been arrested or charged at this time.