James Nelson (BCSO)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A former school bus driver has been charged with one count of operating while intoxicated with a passenger under 16 years old after a can of beer was found on the bus during a field trip.
James Nelson, 70, appeared in Brown County court Wednesday. He was arrested after returning to Green Bay from driving fourth- and fifth-grade students on a field trip to Madison Monday.
In a letter to Lincoln Elementary parents, the Green Bay school district says a student discovered a leaking can under the driver’s seat while they were on their way back to the school.
In court Wednesday, where a $1,000 signature bond was set, Nelson admitted to his actions.
“I did some harm, more to myself than for Lamers (Bus Lines) and I did not want to put them through any more difficulty than they have. I worked there five years with an impeccable record. This was a bad choice of discretion, and I accept full blame for that,” Nelson said.
Interrupting him, Court Commissioner Paul Burke reminded Nelson of the purpose of the hearing.
“Mr. Nelson, I’m not sure that you understand, this is not a sentencing hearing,” he said. “This is just a bond hearing to see if you should be released. I’ve decided that you should be — I can change that. I don’t know what the point of you saying this right now is.”
“I was just trying to say, your honor, that I’m sorry for what I did,” Nelson replied.
Nelson faces a misdemeanor count with a fine of $350 to $1,100, and jail time of five days to six months.
According to the complaint, Nelson struck a curb in Madison, and “Some of the teachers and chaperones also noticed while the bus was traveling north on the highway back to Green Bay that the bus was doing a lot of drifting back and forth. The bus tires hit the rumble strips approximately five times on the way from Madison back to Green Bay. It was a windy day, and some of the teachers and chaperones suspected that the wind was a significant factor in what was causing the bus to drift back and forth.”
The staff members on the bus “did not notice any obvious signs of impairment with the bus driver or any driving behavior that was overly alarming,” the complaint states.
As the teachers were starting to develop suspicions that the bus driver had been drinking while the bus was northbound back to Green Bay, there was some communication between the teachers on the bus and school district staff. While this was going on, the school district reached out to Lamers Bus Line. Lamers advised that bus had been used as a party bus the weekend before and suspected that the cans that were seen were a result of the bus just not being cleaned very well after it was used as a party bus. That information provided by Lamers coupled with the teachers not noticing any obvious signs of impairment were why the police were not called immediately to attempt to stop the bus while it was en route back to Green Bay.
Upon the return to Green Bay, police asked Nelson about the trip.
“James admitted that he drank two beers while in Madison at around 12:00PM in the bus by himself while it was parked. He said that he then drove the bus at around 1:00PM to transport the students back to Green Bay K9 Officer Conley looked at the cooler in which James had with him and saw there was four Budweiser cans that were empty,” it states.
A field sobriety test was performed but was inconclusive. A preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol level of .056, and Nelson was arrested for operating a commercial motor vehicle with a BAC above .04.
A blood sample was taken but results are not cited in the document.
Lamers Bus Lines said it fired Nelson after the incident, although in court, Nelson said he resigned.
The court commissioner ordered Nelson not to drive commercial vehicles, to maintain absolute sobriety and not to go into any liquor stores or taverns.
Nelson is due back in court May 25.
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