School fires bus driver after alleged drunken driving

KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) - According to a Kokomo-Center Township schools spokesman, the bus driver accused of driving drunk with students on board has been fired.

Saturday, Theresa Mast, 56, was allegedly drunk as she drove the bus with the girl’s varsity swim team. She was taking them to a meet in Richmond when a number of drivers noted the bus driving erratically on U.S. 31.

“She was taken into custody Saturday morning after receiving reports of a bus driving erratically,” Howard County Sheriff Steven Rogers said. “The blood test indicated she tested .20 for blood alcohol at the time.”

A swim coach intervened prior to police involvement. The team was transferred to another bus.

Mast, officials said, didn’t respond to repeated attempts to contact her and started driving back. She eventually pulled over, and police confronted her.

“We don’t know if she had been up all night, but it’s obvious at some point in time she drank alcohol prior to our contact with her,” Rogers said.

“It’s unusual for us to deal with this situation. I’m sure to the employee that’s not a trained law enforcement official this would have been a very unusual situation too. What do you do? What really is the problem? I don’t know that they fully understood what the problem was at the time.”

Mast remained jailed without bond awaiting her initial court appearance Tuesday. Other charges may be forthcoming. Rogers said his department notified the Department of Child Services about the incident as part of their normal procedures.

Rogers said the school had been “very cooperative and assisted us in this investigation.”