Update – Monroe County Bus Driver Had Possible Medical Condition

From today’s Beckley Register-Herald:

Bus driver’s medical condition probed

Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter

Prosecutors say they are investigating a possible medical condition with a Monroe County school bus driver charged with DUI following a bus crash involving 11 children Tuesday.

A well known Charleston DUI defense lawyer also said the bus driver should never have been charged with DUI because his preliminary breath test proved he was not intoxicated.

Monroe Prosecutor Rod Mohler told the Register-Herald on Thursday the case against Clyde Watson, Jr., 62, of Union, was moving forward with “extreme caution” because of the accident.

State Police arrested Watson and charged him with DUI while transporting minors. Watson’s bus crashed down a 120-foot ravine with 11 children aboard about 7:20 a.m. near the Monroe-Greenbrier county line. There were no injuries were reported.

“What little we know is at this point there was a trace level of alcohol in his system,” Mohler said Thursday. “Even at that low level, you can still be considered under the influence. However, there are some issues that need to be explored regarding whether (Watson) might be a diabetic and how alcohol of any amount would affect his system and be shown on a breath test.”

Watson was administered a preliminary breath test by a Greenbrier County sheriff’s deputy which found a .022 level of alcohol in his body.

Mohler said the case would be “explored fully and completely” to determine whether Watson was “criminally responsible regardless of his condition.”

A phone listing for Watson could not be found Thursday.

Watson told police he had taken Nyquil, which contains alcohol, the night before and felt “funny” just before the accident.

School officials said Watson previously had a spotless 14-year safety record as a bus driver. Superintendent Lyn Guy said Watson was suspended from his job pending the resolution of the DUI charge.

Although .08 is considered the legal limit for driving under the influence, State Police Trooper J.L. Cooper said a person can be charged with DUI for much lower levels if alcohol impairs the ability to drive.

“You have to justify that the alcohol limit caused the impairment,” Cooper said.

Barbara Allen, a deputy with the state attorney general’s office, said any driver with an “appreciable measure of alcohol” can be charged with DUI.

“Once a driver’s alcohol level reaches .08, you are presumed to be under the influence,” Allen said Thursday. “If the level of alcohol is below that, you can still be found guilty if a jury concludes based on all the facts and circumstances that your ability to drive was impaired because you were under the influence of alcohol.”

But the question remains whether Watson’s reported .022 alcohol level is enough to justify a DUI conviction, Charleston lawyer Carter Zerbe said, and whether Watson was under the influence at all the morning of the accident.

“The .022 level is so low that it is evidence in and of itself that the bus driver was not under the influence of alcohol,” Zerbe, who is among the state’s top DUI defense lawyers, said Thursday. “I don’t know what basis there was for charging this bus driver for violating that section of the law.”

Zerbe said preliminary tests are not admissible as evidence at trial. In Watson’s case, a second, more reliable test was not given because too much time had elapsed from the first breath test, according to the criminal complaint.

However, hospital records containing Watson’s blood tests are being subpoenaed to determine what levels, if any, there were of alcohol in his system, police said Wednesday.

“If the initial breath test was .022 and if it was accurate,” Zerbe said, “I would imagine the blood test will be exculpatory.”

A hearing in the case is expected to be scheduled next week. If convicted, Watson faces two days to 12 months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

Note: The first time I read the article, I thought it said he had a .22 BAC – which is common in black-out type situations. Upon reading the updated article and re-reading the prior article, I noticed that it said “.022.” Having formerly prosecuted DUI’s in North Carolina (actually they are called DWI’s) I agree with Mr. Watson’s lawyer that there is no way this man can be charged. First of all, since he is a bus driver, he could be charged if he registered a .04 BAC. However, the preliminary field sobriety test is not admissible in court, so he could not be convicted even if the field test read over a .04 – which it didn’t. They would have to have an intoxilyzer result that is admissible – which doesn’t exist in this case. Lastly, it would not be fair to put this man before a jury when the only evidence of intoxication is the accident itself. – John H. Bryan, West Virginia car accident attorney.

See UPDATE here.

Monroe County School Bus Driver Careens Down Ravine, Charged With DUI

From today’s Beckley Register-Herald:

School bus driver faces DUI charge

Union man arrested after mishap involving 11 kids

Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter

State Police arrested a Monroe County school bus driver Tuesday and charged him with DUI after his bus, carrying 11 students, careened down an 120-foot ravine before coming to rest upright over a small creek.

Monroe Schools Superintendent Lyn Guy told The Register-Herald no children were injured in the 7:20 a.m. accident and all were rescued by EMS responders who built a rope line along the steep embankment.

Clyde Watson Jr., 62, of Union, was charged with DUI with minors in a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed by Sgt. J.L. Cooper.

Watson, a 14-year school bus driver, was arrested at the scene prior to being transported to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Fairlea. He was later was released from custody after posting $1,000 bond in Monroe Magistrate Court.

The criminal complaint said Watson registered a preliminary blood-alcohol content of .022 at the accident scene.

“The defendant was not tested on the intoximeter due to the elapsed time of first contact with an officer,” Cooper said. “However, blood was collected at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center.”

Results of Watson’s blood tests were unknown Tuesday and Cooper could not be reached for comment.

“In his statement, the defendant advised that he had felt ‘funny’ just before the accident,” Cooper said. “He also advised that he had taken Nyquil last night.”

Although the legal limit for driving under the influence is .08, state laws allow police to charge drivers with DUI who have lower BAC levels. Monroe Prosecutor Rod Mohler could not be reached Tuesday for clarification concerning Watson’s arrest and whether there are special circumstances when minors are in the vehicle.

State CDL laws require licensed drivers to be under .04 BAC while driving, according to State Code.

Guy said Watson has been suspended from his job pending the resolution of the DUI charge. She noted he previously had a spotless record for 14 consecutive years as a bus driver. A phone number for Watson could not be found in several telephone directory listings.

If convicted, Watson faces two days to 12 months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

Guy said seat belts are not required on school buses, but the heavily padded seats may have contributed to the children’s safety.

“None of the kids had a scratch on them,” Guy said. “The padding on the seats are heavy and kids complain about them at times because they are so tight to get into.”

The accident occurred on Highland Park Road, about two miles from U.S. 219, Guy said.

“Apparently, Mr. Watson over-corrected the steering after running off the right side of the road during his morning bus route,” she said. “The bus left the one-lane road, taking out a telephone/power pole, traveled over 120 feet down an embankment and then came to rest upright at the bottom of a ravine.”

Guy said no injuries were reported from the students, ranging in age from 5 to 16, or Watson. The first person at the scene of the accident, Guy said, was the father of two of the children on the bus. The parent was driving to work when he stopped after noticing the downed telephone pole.

“The parent went down into the ravine and got on the bus with the children and checked them out,” Guy, who was unable to identify the parent, said. “He checked out the kids and everyone seemed to be fine.”

Guy said the bus came to rest with its front wheels across a small creek. Prior to the rescue, Allegheny Power crews responded to the scene because of the downed, live power lines. The rescue could not take place until power was cut to the downed lines, Guy said.

Ronceverte Fire Chief Jody Campbell said more than 30 emergency responders aided in the children’s rescue and subsequent bus recovery. The Union and Ronceverte fire departments, Union Ambulance, Greenbrier County Ambulance, state and county police all aided in the rescue effort, he said.

“First we went in and cut a trail with power saws and we were able to get the children and they walked out of the bus under their own power,” Campbell said. “We constructed a hand rail with the ropes and individually escorted everyone up the rope line and the steep embankment.”

The children were then loaded onto an awaiting school bus and transported to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, he said.

“Within an hour and a half, all victims from the bus were transported to the hospital,” Guy said.

Campbell said the bus was not recovered from the ravine until about 2 p.m., and that required the assistance of two large wreckers. The bus sustained heavy damage to its front end and a broken windshield, he said.

The bus was transported to the county’s bus lot, where it will stay until state inspectors review it, Guy said.

Note: Fortunately none of the children were hurt that we know of. However, many car accident injuries do not appear at first. So it is possible that some of the children were injured and have not realized it yet. In these instances it is important to get checked out by the doctor or at the emergency room if there are any signs of possible injuries – such as unusual pain. If there have been injuries in this situation, the driver will most likely be liable, but the real defendant will be the school – and therefore the State of West Virginia (and thus there would be adequate insurance). – John H. Bryan, West Virginia car accident attorney.

See UPDATE here.

Beckley Driver Huffs Intoxicant, Hurts Five-month Old Child

From today’s Register-Herald:

Baby, mother injured after car crash; driver charged with DUI, police say

Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

A Daniels woman allegedly under the influence of an inhalant crashed a car through a yard and two fences, went over and up two embankments and struck a building, injuring another woman and a five-month-old girl, Beckley police said.

Angel L. Stoots, 25, of Danmont Vista, was charged with DUI with injury, DUI with child endangerment, driving without a license and having no insurance, Cpl. Will Reynolds said. She was being held Saturday at Southern Regional Jail on $5,000 bond.

Stoots was in the driver’s seat of a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo parked behind the Pagoda Motel on Harper Road Friday evening, Reynolds said.

An adult female passenger was in the front seat and the passenger’s 5-month-old daughter was in a child safety seat in the back.

Stoots was reportedly inhaling an unidentified “intoxicating substance,” Reynolds said. She claimed she passed out while the car was in gear and stepped on the gas pedal.

The Monte Carlo went across North Pike Street and into a resident’s back yard in the 1000 block of West Neville Street, Reynolds said. The car then tore down two fences and went over a six-foot embankment. After going through a resident’s parking spot and through grass, the car went up a three-foot embankment and struck a brick building in the same block of West Neville.

The passenger and her daughter were taken to Raleigh General Hospital, Reynolds said. The baby had a knot on her head and the passenger complained of head and back pain. Stoots was not hurt.

The passenger told police she was not involved in Stoots’ activities and that she tried to get herself and her child out of the car, Reynolds said.

Note: This woman is liable for any and all property damage that she caused, as well as for any injuries suffered by the other occupants of the vehicle, including the five-month old child. Furthermore, liability is pretty much a non-issue since the criminal charges alone will basically prove that. Hopefully, the woman had adequate insurance. Many times however, the same type of lowlife mentality that would lead a person to huff an intoxicant while driving a car in which an innocent five-month old baby is a passenger is the same mentality that would lead a person to decide to drive without vehicle liability insurance. – John H. Bryan, West Virginia car accident attorney.

Police Arrest Charles Town Driver for Fleeing Fatal Wreck

From today’s Huntington Herald-Dispatch:

Police arrest driver accused of fleeing fatal wreck

By The Associated Press
Herald-Dispatch.com

CHARLES TOWN — The driver of a pickup truck that went into the Potomac River faces charges of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident.

Kevin David Phelps of Harpers Ferry remains free on $50,000 bond following his arrest last week.

State Police say the truck ran off River Road east of Shepherdstown and landed in the river on Jan. 6. Susan Daley, 35, of Frederick, Md., was found submerged in water in the truck’s cab and is believed to have drowned.

Two other passengers escaped from the truck and were treated and released from a local hospital.

Phelps, 30, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records.

There was no telephone listing for Phelps in the Harpers Ferry area. It was not known Wednesday night whether he has a lawyer.

Note: In this situation, the driver is likely going to be charged criminally with various serious charges. Also, however, he is going to be liable civilly for wrongful death of one of the passengers, as well as for personal injuries for the other passengers. Hopefully this guy has more than a $20,000 insurance limit. However, the civil actions against him are going to have to prove more than that he just left the scene of the accident. They will have to prove that he was negligent in allowing the truck to run off the road and into the river. That shouldn’t be too difficult though given the fact that the truck ended up there in the first place. It would be interesting to know how long after the wreck that he was arrested, and if it was soon after, whether any toxicology tests were done regarding possible alcohol or drug use. If there was, then there would be practically instant civil (and criminal) liability. – John H. Bryan, West Virginia Car Accident Attorney.