Drunk Long Island Bus Driver, James Sommer, Gets DUI After Crash
Long Island bus driver James Sooner, 47, was arrested on October 22, 2012 for driving while intoxicated. Apparently, Sooner crashed his bus full of seventh graders during a field trip. The bus driver was trying to park when he suddenly backed into a tree limb. One of the students on the bus, a 12-year old girl, was taken to Huntington Hospital with minor injuries. There were 29 Plainedge Middle School students on the bus as well as one teacher when the accident occurred.
The students were being taken to the DNA Learning Center at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory when the accident occurred. Sommer has been charged with DWI while operating a school bus with students on board, DWI with a child passenger 15 years or younger, and endangering the welfare of a child. Sommer will be held overnight at the 2nd Precinct in Suffolk County with his arraignment scheduled for Tuesday at the First District Court. This is actually the third time this month that a Long Island bus driver has been arrested for driving drunk. Police found an open bottle of Vodka after one bus driver crashed his empty bus near an Expressway in Ronkonkoma on October 11. Another bus driver crashed his bus into a home with 5 elementary students on board just after leaving their Catholic school.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced New York DWI attorney for legal assistance.
