Tennessee Bus Driver Arrested For DUI On Job

Cheryl Hembree, a bus driver in Cocke County, Tennessee was arrested and charged with DUI on March 11, 2013. According to police, the incident occurred around 2:30 pm while Hembree was on the job. Sheriff Armando Fontes said that he received a tip that the 39 year old bus driver had just purchased a 24-ounce bottle of Natural Ice Beer and carried it with her onto her bus. Cocke County School resource officer Randy Cutshaw and Detective James Holt were dispatched and found Hembree inside the bus, engine running, behind a church across Cocke County High School.

Police found that Hembree had consumed 20 ounces of beer from the bottle and gave her a breathalyzer test. Police found her blood alcohol content (BAC) level to be .09%, which exceeds the state’s legal limit of .04% for commercial drivers. Investigators believe that the intoxicated bus driver was about to pick up students at the high school just across the street. When asked why she was drinking before picking up the students, she replied “She told me that she was nervous because the bus she was driving was four feet longer than what she had been driving“. Hembree was arrested and charged with DUI as well as an open container violation. Hembree was booked and then released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond.

If you have been arrested for driving drunk, contact an experienced and skilled Tennessee DUI attorney for legal assistance.