HOT SPRINGS -- A former Fountain Lake Elementary School bus driver who is accused of drinking while driving a bus with 16 students on board Jan. 12 is scheduled to appear March 19 in Garland County District Court.
Anita Jean Cox, 57, of Hot Springs Village faces charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor that's punishable by up to one year in jail, authorities said.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, Garland County sheriff's Deputy Justin Butcher was contacted by Keith Baker, the Fountain Lake Facility Transportation director, on Jan. 12 in reference to an occurrence on the No. 4 school bus the previous night.
Steve Freeman, Fountain Lake Elementary School's assistant principal, witnessed the incident, according to the affidavit, and said the bus driver for an after-school program "almost had a wreck and seemed to be impaired while driving."
Freeman said the driver was transporting 16 students to Fountain Lake Elementary from the Cordova Center in Hot Springs Village and almost had a head-on collision.
Freeman yelled Cox's name, and she "jerked the bus back across the centerline," the affidavit said. He also saw her swerving back and forth across the centerline, and in and out of oncoming traffic several times, according to the document.
Cox was seen on the bus security camera drinking out of a glass Mason jar that contained a clear liquid, according to the affidavit. Baker found the Mason jar in a console storage box in the bus driven by Cox the day before, the document said.
The contents of the jar were tested Feb. 6 and were found to contain 42 percent ethanol alcohol, the affidavit said.
Superintendent Michael Murphy said that Cox was placed on paid leave after the incident.
She submitted a letter of resignation that was accepted by the Fountain Lake School Board on Jan. 19.
State Desk on 03/09/2018