Court docs detail scary bus ride

KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) - Court documents reveal it was a harrowing ride for the Kokomo High School girls’ swim team Saturday morning before the bus driver – accused of driving drunk – was convinced to pull over and let them off the bus.

A parent following behind the bus driven by Teresa Mast on Saturday morning, en route to Richmond for a swim meet, became alarmed when she witnessed the bus veering off the roadway, then moving back onto the road and into the path of oncoming traffic, she told police.

Then, once the bus was on U.S. 31, the parent, Celena Hawk, told police, she saw the bus weave continually from the rumble strips on the left side of the road to the far right side of the two-lane road and back again. She told police it was the scariest thing she had ever witnessed, because she didn’t know what to do, and she was worried for those on board, including her daughter.

She called the coach, Donita Walters, who was on the bus, and urged her to make the bus driver stop and to get the kids off the bus. Hawk then called 911 at 8:37 a.m. Saturday, according to court documents.

When questioned by police later, Walters corroborated the description of Mast’s driving, adding that the driver was hitting the brakes hard enough to send papers and equipment flying inside the bus, court documents said.

Walters said the scene on the bus was tense, and it got to the point that the girls were squealing out of fear when the bus repeatedly hit the rumble strips on the side of U.S. 31.

The coach ultimately confronted Mast, telling her to pull over. The girls got off the bus and boarded the bus with the boys’ swim team, also en route to the Richmond meet. Walters said an argument ensued with Mast, who then got back on the bus and drove back toward Kokomo.

From there, police were able to track down the bus at 9:05 a.m. Saturday and took Mast into custody. Police say she admitted to police she had been drinking the night before, and had taken lorazepam, an anti-anxiety prescription drug, that morning.

Court documents said the prescription bottle, found in Mast’s purse, clearly stated the drug’s drowsy effects would be increased if combined with alcohol. Court documents also said Mast acknowledged to police that the drug label instructs users not to operate heavy machinery under the influence of the drug.

A blood test confirmed the presence of benzodiazepines, which medical staff confirmed would be the result of lorazepam, along with a blood-alcohol content of .20, more than twice the legal limit for driving.

She was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a minor, a Class D felony, operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.

The Kokomo-Center Township schools board fired Mast on Monday evening .