Posted on 09/30/2003 5:03:37 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952
An Austin High School student suspected that something was amiss, police say, when the driver of the bus he and nine other teens were riding wheeled into a parking lot for an unexpected stop at a Jack in the Box.
He used his cell phone to alert his father about the unusual Friday afternoon trip home, and a few minutes later, authorities had arrested and charged the driver of Bus 6034 with driving while intoxicated with children in the vehicle.
Austin school officials placed Christina Bell Lowery, 47, on administrative leave with pay Monday and said they are in the early stages of their investigation.
"We don't have all the answers," Human Resources Director Michael Houser said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Lowery had a faint alcoholic odor, bloodshot and watery eyes, and slurred and confused speech. She was also wobbling and swaying, had balance problems and had trouble understanding instructions and simple directions, the affidavit said.
Lowery's husband, Steve, said Monday afternoon that his wife has an undiagnosed medical condition that causes her to tremble, particularly when she is stressed. He said she drinks alcohol sometimes but that she's always concerned about making sure it is out of her system when she gets behind the wheel.
"She measures, and she times herself to make sure she is safe," Steve Lowery said. "She's careful. She doesn't want to jeopardize anybody."
Christina Lowery said she had no alcohol reading on a Breathalyzer exam at the scene, and police could not produce results Monday.
"The appropriate tests were administered at the time of arrest," police spokesman Joe Munoz said. "We aren't disclosing any other information until we get those results."
Lowery said authorities took a sample of her blood after the Breathalyzer test. She said she had consumed three ounces of whiskey Thursday night but was sure it was out of her system when she reported to work the next morning.
"I'm absolutely sure those blood tests will come back clean," she said.
Lowery said she was running an extra afternoon route Friday to fill in for a co-worker who was running late. She usually drives students at Patton Elementary School and Small Middle School.
Authorities said the man whose son had called showed up at the Jack in the Box on William Cannon Boulevard near U.S. 290 in Southwest Austin, saw Lowery and the stopped bus and called police. In the meantime, the bus started rolling again.
A bus dispatcher tried to contact Lowery to get her to stop, but she would not, the affidavit said. A district police officer eventually got the bus to pull over in the 7000 block of Escarpment Boulevard, near William Cannon. The district police officer then called Austin police for assistance.
Lowery said she had stopped at the Jack in the Box because several students said they needed to use the restroom.
"I shouldn't have been sympathetic," she said. "I said, 'As long as everyone on this bus agrees, we will stop.' "
She said she became confused and frustrated when the dispatcher kept changing the place she was to stop for police.
Lowery is charged with a state jail felony because she had 10 passengers ranging in age from 14 to 16. The penalty is up to two years behind bars and a $10,000 fine.
Houser said Lowery has worked for the district nearly a year and has a clean record. He said officials are talking to other employees, trying to learn how Lowery was acting when she picked up the keys to her bus Friday afternoon.
Houser said officials have scheduled a meeting with Lowery for today.
"We still believe everyone has the right to answer for themselves," he said.
If it's "undiagnosed", then how does he know she has it?
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