- Karen Kawa, 52, was allegedly intoxicated when she drove a school bus to a school to bring special needs students home Wednesday afternoon
- Prosecutors said Kawa’s blood-alcohol level was three times over the legal limit
- The principal said Kawa allegedly had a hard time standing and was sluggish
A 52-year-old Illinois bus driver was allegedly drunk when she tried to pick up special needs students for their afternoon ride home from school.
Karen Kawa, of Chicago Ridge, Illinois, was charged with one count of aggravated DUI while operating a bus, stemming from an incident that occurred on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said that Kawa’s blood-alcohol levels were almost three times the level allowed by law, the Daily Southtown reported.
Karen Kawa, 52, of Chicago Ridge, Illinois, was charged with one count of aggravated DUI while operating a bus after she allegedly arrived drunk to pick up a busload of students
A special needs assistant noticed that Sawa was allegedly acting oddly when she drove up in the school bus to Walsh Elementary School at about 3pm on Wednesday, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The special needs students had already filed onto the bus before the assistant was able to bring the principal over.
Upon arrival, the principal told Kawa to exit the bus, at which point Kawa allegedly had a hard time standing and appeared to move sluggishly, according to authorities.
The principal then pulled the keys out of the bus’ ignition, instructed the students to exit the bus and called police.
Prosecutors said that Kawa’s blood-alcohol level was allegedly three times above the Illinois state’s legal limit when she drove the school bus to Walsh Elementary School on Wednesday
Prosecutors said that a blood-alcohol test administered to Kawa allegedly showed that she had a level of 0.231 — almost three times Illinois state’s legal limit.
Kawa’s lawyer said that she had worked as a bus driver for the past decade.
A Cook County judge set Kawa’s bail at $5,000. She is scheduled to return to court on January 9.