Drunk New York school bus driver took students on fast-food run

A drunk upstate New York school bus driver took students to McDonalds so she could snag some breakfast, authorities say.

Lashonda Griffin, 29, was arrested at the Gates Chili School District’s bus depot Friday — after dropping off her ride and passing out with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, WROC-TV reported.

There had been six students, ranging in age from 5 to 16 years old, on the bus to Northstar Christian Academy in Rochester that morning, Syracuse.com reported.

One of the students said Griffin told the kids, “We’re going to stop at McDonald’s quick, don’t tell nobody,” WROC reported.

She then brought at least two students into the chain restaurant to pick up breakfast, the outlets reported.

“To be honest, I was a little bit confused by it,” an exchange student, Tu Tran, told the news station.

No students were on the bus when she was found incapacitated behind the wheel and failed a sobriety test, police said.

“We were definitely very lucky in this situation that all of the children were delivered to school from home safely and that the driver had returned back to the bus garage,” Gates Police Lt. Robert Long told Syracuse.com.

Griffin faces multiple counts of DWI and child endangerment, Long said. She was issued an appearance ticket and released.

School officials said Griffin was employed with the district on a probationary period and they’re “taking time to review safety protocols with all drivers,” the outlet reported.

“While the district cannot comment directly on personnel matters, we can say that this is an egregious violation of our policies and practices and will never be tolerated,” the district said.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/10/19/drunk-new-york-school-bus-driver-took-students-on-fast-food-run-cops/

Photo Credit: Gates Police Department