Bus Driver Accused of Driving Drunk with 20 Farmington Students

A Farmington bus driver reportedly was arrested for being three times above the legal limit while driving 20 students to the Irving Robbins Middle School on Wednesday.

Tammy Costello, 44, of Bristol, who works for M&J Bus Inc., faces 20 counts of risk of injury to a minor, according to a WFSB report. She also was charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to drive right.

On Wednesday, a Farmington police officer headed to the middle school on Wolf Pit Road, happened to be behind the bus, reportedly saw the bus tires swerve off the pavement and onto a grassy area, according to the report.

Even though the officer followed the bus to the school without noticing any other violations, students told the officer that Costello had hit several curbs during the ride to school.

The officer suspected the driver was intoxicated when speaking to her. She reportedly failed field sobriety tests and when brought to the Farmington Police Department her blood alcohol breath tests were .139 and .134. The legal limit for commercial drivers in Connecticut is .04.

Costello posted $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 2.

The full WFSB report can be found here.

Photo credit: Farmington Police via WFSB.