The driver of a school van in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, admitted drinking after fleeing a crash while transporting students, reported CBS News.

The driver, identified as 66-year-old Jeffrey Irwin, is facing a total of 27 charges, including multiple counts of DUI, reckless driving, and endangering the welfare of children.

Pittsburgh Public Safety said via the article that Irwin crashed into another vehicle on the 16th Street Bridge before fleeing the scene. He was transporting approximately six 10-year-olds at the time of the incident.

The students on board the van reportedly began contacting their parents to alert them of the situation. Law enforcement tracked down the van through GPS on children’s phones. Authorities located the vehicle and stopped the driver at an intersection. Students were safely returned to their families and there were no reported injuries.

One of the students on board the bus told local news reporters that Irwin almost flipped the bus over and then started moving into other lanes, almost hitting a car.

The criminal complaint states via the article that Irwin admitted to having three to four drinks prior to transporting the students. According to police, he also told an officer that he “self-medicates” with alcohol. Irwin had at least one prior DUI and left the scene of a crash in 2001.

Baldwin-Whitehall School District said via the article that the van was operated by contractor First Student and the driver is not a district employee. The case is under investigation.

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Related: West Virginia School Bus Driver Faces Sentence After DUI Crash
Related: Pennsylvania School Van Driver Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for DUI
Related: West Virginia School Bus Driver Indicted For DUI
Related: Massachusetts School Van Driver Faces DUI, Child Endangerment Charges

The post Pennsylvania Man Admits to Drinking After Fleeing Crash While Driving School Van with Students appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Colorado school district paid $16.2 million for abuse of a five-year-old student by a bus attendant. Additionally, New York’s electric school bus mandate is nearing and questions persist. Read more in STN’s June issue, out now.

Following the death of an Ohio student near a transit bus stop, safety conversations have reignited. Michael Miller, transportation director for Sycamore Community Schools and president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation, is joined by Todd Silverthorn, second OAPT vice president and transportation director for Kettering School District. They discuss how legislation and the driver shortage complicate operations and analyze the controversial use of transit buses and vans to provide required transportation to non-public schools.

Read more about safety.

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The post (STN Podcast E260) Beneficial and Safe: Ohio Standouts Talk Safety vs. Reactionary Legislation appeared first on School Transportation News.

A student transportation driver in Harrisburg will serve nearly eight years in prison after pleading guilty to driving a school vehicle under the influence of prescription drugs last year, reported FOX 43.

Heather Shumberger, 41, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of DUI, and a summary traffic offense.

Shumberger was reportedly sentenced to a prison term of four months to just under eight years last week. Once her prison terms end, she will also serve a period of probation.

The incident reportedly occurred on Oct. 30, 2023, when police officers pulled over Shumberger after receiving multiple calls from other motorists concerned with her erratic driving.

According to the article, Shumberger was driving a school van, traveling well under the posted speed limit of 65 mph, and swerving in and out of traffic lanes.

Responding officers said Shumberger’s van was located and pulled over. She began to doze off while interacting with officers and was unable to perform the field sobriety test.

Four students ages 9 to 19-years-old were inside the van at the time of the incident. The students showed police a video that showed Shumberger swerving while driving.

Police also reportedly watched outward- and inward-facing dash camera footage from the school vehicle that provided additional evidence of her erratic driving. Another driver was assigned to pick up the students and safely transport them to their destination.

The news report states that blood test later showed that Shumberger had Xanax, Klonopin, Pristiq, Soma, Zyprexa, Effexor and Buprenorphine in her system at the time of her arrest.

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Related: West Virginia School Bus Driver Accused of DUI, Accepts Guilty Plea
Related: Ohio School Bus Driver Found Not Guilty of Driving Impaired
Related: Massachusetts School Van Driver Faces DUI, Child Endangerment Charges
Related: Minnesota School Bus Driver Admits to DUI After Crashing with Students Onboard

The post Pennsylvania School Van Driver Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for DUI appeared first on School Transportation News.

Chronic absenteeism in schools remains above pre-pandemic levels nationwide. Recent reports show that a primary way to improve attendance is to ensure students have reliable school transportation.

During the presentation, Detroit Public Schools Community District will share how they have leveraged innovative technology and multi-modal transportation plans to address chronic absenteeism while delivering cost savings and driving operational excellence for their district.

This webinar will highlight:

• The realities of chronic absenteeism across the country and actionable insights for attendees to bring back to their districts.
• How districts can diversify their transportation mix to include buses, vans and small vehicles.
• Ways DPSCD improved their attendance rates, while improving their daily operations.

With the school year quickly approaching, this webinar will help provide a framework for attendees to close out the year strong and set transportation and operations teams up for success next school year.

Brought to you by HopSkipDrive

REGISTER BELOW:

 

Speakers:

Aaron Walter
Executive Director of Transportation
Detroit Public Schools Community District

 

 

Joe Brumfield
VP Business Development
HopSkipDrive

 

The post (Free Webinar) How Detroit Public Schools Improved Attendance with Multimodal Transportation appeared first on School Transportation News.

The dream of a driverless Tesla fleet shuttling people around while their owners kick back at home has been around for years, always just around the corner, but never quite here. Now, as the company continues to promise that reality is almost within reach, the U.S. Patent Office may have just introduced another delay.

As it turns out, names like “Robotaxi” and “Cybercab” might be too generic to trademark, and that could complicate Tesla’s rollout plans.

Read: Tesla Stiffs Cybertruck Owners On Another Promised Feature

It’s worth noting that Cybercab and Robotaxi refer to different things in the Tesla world. The former is the two-door prototype the automaker unveiled last year. The latter is the software that could enable everyday Tesla owners to let their car go around picking people up and moving them around while the owner is busy working or doing just about anything else.

According to TechCrunch, the USPTO just issued a non-final office action on the trademark application for the name Robotaxi. Specifically, the office said that name “describes a feature, ingredient, characteristic, purpose, function, intended audience of applicant’s goods and/or services.” In layman’s terms, it’s too general. The office even cited Wikipedia, Zoox, and The Verge to prove it.

“This term is used to describe similar goods and services by other companies,” the agency wrote. That mirrors a similar decision it made in April regarding Tesla’s attempt to trademark “Cybercab.”

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In that motion, the USPTO pointed to multiple concerns, including the potential for consumer confusion. In fact, it even mentioned other companies that use the word Cyber, including ones that specifically build aftermarket products for the Cybertruck. In a way, Tesla did this to itself. For now, though, the names aren’t dead and gone.

In both cases, Tesla can argue its case with whatever evidence it thinks is relevant. No doubt, the two words do seem tied to the automaker a little more all the time. Tesla must respond within three months or the USPTO will abandon the application. That runs well past Tesla’s planned June rollout, so expect more news on this topic sooner rather than later.

The post Do you agree with the increasing use of non-school-bus vehicles for student transportation? appeared first on School Transportation News.