A bus driver for the Gilboa-Conesville Central School was drunk when he drove 13 children home during his afternoon run on Monday, Feb. 22, according to the New York State Police in Cobleskill.
Left: Daniel Mowers. Photo via the New York State Police.
Forty-two-year-old Daniel R. Mowers of Delhi was arrested at the Gilboa School bus garage on Monday afternoon, according to a press release from the State Police. He was visibly drunk and had already dropped off all his students safely when police apprehended him, according to school officials and a police press release.
"We’re very, very grateful that no one got hurt," said Ruth Reeve, the superintendent of Gilboa-Conesville Central School. "Day in and day out, we work very hard to try to keep kids safe. That's our number one priority."
The police had been tipped off by the parent of a child who had been dropped off by Mowers. The child reported that the school bus "was being operated erratically" that afternoon, police say.
When police interviewed Mowers at the bus garage, they smelled alcohol on his breath, the press release states. Mowers also reportedly failed sobriety tests. After he was arrested, Mowers' blood alcohol level was measured at .12%, police say. The legal limit for DWI is .08%.
Mowers is being held on $15,000 cash bail at the Schoharie County Jail and will appear in Gilboa Town Court on Feb. 25, police say.
Reeve, the Gilboa superintendent, said that she cannot discuss whether Mowers will continue to be employed by the school district.
"I can’t discuss that because it’s a personnel issue," she said. "We are being guided by our school attorney."
