Bus Driver With Scouts Had BAC 3X+ Legal Limit, Beer Bottle: DA

BAITING HOLLOW, NY — A woman charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of two crashes had 10 Cub Scouts from the Baiting Hollow Scout Camp aboard her bus, a blood alcohol content of .30 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent — and an empty beer bottle beside her seat, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

Diane Juergens, 61, of Ridge was indicted Tuesday on 38 counts including aggravated driving while intoxicated, a felony; two counts of driving while intoxicated, a felony; 20 counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated, Leandra’s Law, a felony; three counts of driving while intoxicated, misdemeanors; 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors; and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, violations, Sini said.

If convicted of the top count, Juergens faces two and one-third to seven years in prison, Sini said. She has no prior criminal history, he said.

According to Assistant District Attorney Kim Carson, on July 13 at 4:37 p.m., Juergens arrived at the eastern entrance to the Baiting Hollow Scout camp on Sound Avenue in Calverton. In June, the dedication of a new lodge was held at the camp in honor of Andrew McMorris, 12, who was killed by a drunken driver, Sini said.

"The irony doesn't get much thicker," Sini said.

Juergens, who was driving a full-sized school bus, arrived at 4:25 p.m., 40 minutes later than she was scheduled to pick up the campers, and 10 Cub Scouts, all under 10 years old, boarded the bus with a teenaged counselor, he said.

Juergens was supposed to stop at the western entrance of the camp to pick up older campers but failed to do so and continued on Sound Avenue; when the counselor reminded her, Juergens attempted to execute a U-turn and backed the bus into a stone pillar, which broke, Sini said. She continued heading east on Sound Avenue and sideswiped another vehicle; the driver of that vehicle stopped to communicate with her but she just "waved and kept driving," Sini said.

The counselor told Juergens she'd been told to remain at the location but Juergens continued on Sound Avenue and came to a stop at the same location where she'd picked up the campers, Sini said.

The children were evacuated safely and there were no injuries, he said.

Riverhead Town Police observed that she had the odor of alcohol on her breath, bloodshot, glassy eyes, and was "highly unsteady on her feet," Carson said.

Sini said she failed standardized field sobriety tests.

Juergens was arraigned on the indictment Tuesday by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Stephen Braslow and was released on supervised release with GPS monitoring and alcohol and narcotics conditions. She is being represented by the Legal Aid Society and is due back in court on Sept. 15. Her license was suspended; Braslow said due to bail reform he was unable to set bail.

Dennis Lemke, an attorney from Mineola representing Juergens said his client was grateful no one was hurt at all. "She's very sorry," he said.

"This case is particularly heinous because the defendant was entrusted to make sure these children returned from camp safely. Instead, she put their lives in danger," Sini said. "It's a miracle none of the children were physically injured, but their safety does not excuse her decision to drive while intoxicated with those children in her care. We will hold her accountable."

He added: "It's only by the grace of God that we are not talking about dead children."

Sini also said that although there has been progress in regard to drinking and driving, with less people making poor decisions and more options available for those who choose not to drink and drive, more is needed.

"We are not where we need to be," he said.

Alisa McMorris, Andrew's mother, attended the proceedings and said it was "extremely emotional" to come back to the place that signified such "torture" for her family.

"To witness something else so horrific as someone driving a bus while intoxicated when she was entrusted with Boy Scouts — at the place where we dedicated a lodge to my son, killed by a drunk driver. . . I can't put into words what this means," she said. "When my son passed away I was naive enough to think that people on Long Island would be shook, that we would change what we are doing, but that is clearly not the case."

New research indicates that although the number of miles driven by drunken drivers was lower last year, the number of fatalities linked to DWIs was up 7.2 percent, McMorris said. "We are going in the wrong direction."

This week, McMorris, who is working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said there is new national legislation, "Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone" going for a vote on the Senate floor that advocates for the use of technology in cars, buses, limos, and other vehicles that can detect impaired driving before the vehicle can operate.

The legislation could "rock our world," McMorris said. "This technology is in your car right now. It just needs to be turned on."

The Suffolk County Council, Boy Scouts of America, issued a statement after the crash: "Nothing is more important than the safety of our youth members. As part of our regular safety measures, we always have a staff member onboard each bus that takes youth members to and from camp. Upon realizing that something was wrong with the bus driver, our staff member took immediate action, and we were able to safely remove all youth members from the bus before contacting authorities. There were no injuries thanks to this quick action.

The First Student Bus Company did not return a call for comment.