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School bus driver fired for crash taking six prescription medications

Elizabeth Burris of Colorado lost control of her bus, which rolled over and seriously injured two students. She allegedly told state troopers that she was taking six prescription drugs at the time of the accident, and her lawyer said she is under a doctor’s care for Fibromyalgia.

March 1, 2016
2 min to read


LYONS, Colo. — A school bus driver who was charged with a DUI after crashing a school bus and fired weeks later was taking several prescription medications, including one for Fibromyalgia, CBS4 reports.

In December, bus driver Elizabeth Burris lost control of the bus, which hit a mountainside and rolled over after picking up students from Lyons Middle/Senior High School, according to CBS4. Eight students were aboard the bus when the crash occurred, five were taken to the hospital, and two were seriously injured, the news source reports. The arrest affidavit stated that Burris allegedly told state troopers that she was taking six prescription drugs at the time of the accident, CBS4 reports.

Burris’ lawyer, Sarah Schielke, said that Burris was under a doctor’s care for Fibromyalgia, and that she took the prescription drug Lyrica for “more than a decade,” “only at night” and “never before driving the bus,” according to the news source. Schielke added that the school district was aware of Burris’ condition, and that Burris’ doctor knew she was a bus driver before prescribing the medication. Schielke also said Burris passed a urine drug screen for illicit drugs at the hospital after the crash, and passed mandatory random drug tests administered by the school district.

Burris has an arraignment date scheduled in April, CBS4 reports. Schielke told the news source that she is confident that Burris will be exonerated.

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