School Bus Driver Cited After Falling Asleep Behind the Wheel

HERTFORD, N.C. — A school bus driver has been cited after school officials said she fell asleep behind the wheel, causing her bus to run off the highway and into a ditch last week, The Perquimans Weekly reports.

James Bunch, the assistant superintendent for Perquimans County Schools, told the newspaper that the bus driver, who police identified as Ericka Holley, was driving along Holiday Rd. near Pender Rd. when she apparently lost control of the vehicle, causing the bus to drive off the right side of the road and hit several trees before coming to a stop in a ditch. All 24 students aboard the bus were examined by emergency personnel, and no serious injuries were reported, according to The Perquimans Weekly. Bunch added that the bus was totaled in the crash.

Footage from the security camera on the bus, according to school officials, confirmed that Holley fell asleep prior to the incident, the newspaper reports. North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Buddy Davis told The Perquimans Weekly that Holley was taken to the hospital after she complained that she hurt her hand in the crash. She was charged with careless and reckless driving and failure to maintain lane control.

Bunch told the newspaper that Holley has been a driver with Perquimans County Schools for three years, and will be required to complete a mandatory drug test as part of the district’s policy.

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