A Fairfax County, Virginia, grand jury has indicted a bus driver on charges related to driving a school bus full of kindergartners while suspected of being intoxicated.
In October, Fairfax County police said Troy Reynolds was driving 44 students and four adults from D.C.’s Ben Murch Elementary School back home after visiting a pumpkin patch, when the bus veered off the road, struck a rock and blew out a back tire.
When police arrived, officers said they could smell alcohol on Reynolds — and a blood alcohol test confirmed their suspicion.
Reynolds, 48, was indicted Tuesday on nine felony charges of child endangerment. He also faces three misdemeanor charges related to driving under the influence and operating a bus without a commercial driver’s license. A trial date will be set Thursday.
“My office takes crimes that endanger children very seriously,” Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a news release. “We’re grateful to our partners at the Fairfax County Police Department for their collaboration on this case.”
WTOP’s Dana Sukontarak contributed to this report.