WASHINGTON — A West Virginia bus driver, who authorities say was legally drunk when he rolled a bus full of students recently, has been declared an imminent hazard to public safety by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Jeffrey Brannon has also been ordered to immediately cease operating any commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate or intrastate commerce.
He was served the federal order on March 13, according to an FMCSA news release.
On March 4, Brannon was transporting 19 students from school to their homes when he lost control off the right edge of South Calhoun Highway in West Virginia.
He then over-corrected, causing the Calhoun County Board of Education school bus to roll over on its side in the middle of the highway, the news release states.
On-board surveillance footage captured a video of the accident, which shows Brannon driving erratically and swerving on the two-lane road before he wrecked the bus.
Three students were transported to area hospitals to be treated for serious injuries.
Subsequent testing showed Brannon had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.127%, well over the .04 threshold for a CMV driver, according to the FMCSA.
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) are subject to a variety of prohibitions on use of alcohol prior to and while driving CMVs, including a prohibition on using any alcohol within four hours of driving and a prohibition on driving with an alcohol concentration of .04 or greater.
Based on this, Brannon will be listed as prohibited in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and FMCSA is working with the state of West Virginia to disqualify his CDL. He is charged in West Virginia with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances and three counts of child neglect resulting in injury, along with child neglect creating risk of injury.
FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Out-of-Service Order states that Carrera’s “blatant violations of the FMCSRs and disregard for the safety of your school-age passengers and other highway users demonstrated by these actions substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public.”
Failing to comply with the provisions of the Federal Imminent Hazard Order may result in civil penalties of up to $2,304. Knowing and/or willful violations may result in criminal penalties.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
