Student who took over bus from drunk driver up for award

BARRIE, Ontario — The QMI Agency reports that Brianne St. Onge, now 18, has been nominated for a citizen’s award by the Ontario Provincial Police for ordering her school bus driver, who appeared to be intoxicated, to pull over and hand her the keys last June. She was 17 at the time.

St. Onge, who told the newspaper that the driver “was swerving on the road,” was able to get him to sit and wait while she called police from her cell phone. At the scene, police found driver Keith Rawson with a bottle of open booze on the bus. His Breathalyzer test showed he had nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

Rawson pleaded guilty to impaired driving in a Barrie court last week and apologized for putting students in danger, according to the QMI Agency. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail, a 15-month driving prohibition, 50 hours of community service and one year of probation. In her victim impact statement to the court, St. Onge asked the judge to order the bus driver to get help for his drinking problem, and to give a donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.

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Other recent news on impaired driving:

• School bus driver charged with drunk driving, resigns
• Bus driver admits to DUI with students on board