Camp Bus Driver Charged With DWI Pleads Guilty To Near 30 Counts: DA

BAITING HOLLOW, NY — A Ridge woman charged with driving a bus while intoxicated with Cub Scouts aboard and leaving the scenes of two crashes pleaded guilty Friday to nearly 30 counts of DWI, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to court documents, on July 13, 2021, Diane Juergens, 62, the driver of a school bus transporting children to and from camp, arrived at Baiting Hollow Scout Camp to transport campers home at the end of the day, Tierney said.

A total of 10 Cub Scouts, all under the age of 11, were on the bus, along with their camp counselor, Tierney said.

During the trip, Juergens attempted to make a U-turn on Sound Avenue; while backing up, she reversed into a stone pillar, Tierney said. She also hit a GMC Yukon on Sound Avenue, Tierney said.

Juergens failed to stop and exchange her name, address, license and insurance information with the owners of the properties she damaged and instead, left both scenes and then returned to the original location where she had picked up the Scouts, Tierney said.

Riverhead Police responded and an officer said Juergens had bloodshot, glassy eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on her feet and had the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath, Tierney said.

Officials said at the time that an empty beer bottle was found beside her seat.

Juergens was arrested and transported to the Riverhead Police Department where she consented to a blood test — the result was a .30 percent blood alcohol content, Tierney said. The legal limit is .08 percent.

According to Tierney, Juergens pleaded guilty to one county of aggravated driving while intoxicated per se, a felony; 20 counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child, a felony; one count of driving while intoxicated per se, a felony; one count of driving while intoxicated, a felony; one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated per se, a misdemeanor; one count of driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor; 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor; and two counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, a traffic infraction.

The case was heard before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Stephen L. Braslow; Juergens is due back in court for sentencing on June 14, Tierney said.

“This defendant’s actions put the lives of many people and children at risk,” said Tierney. “We are satisfied knowing that she has faced justice and is no longer behind the wheel.”

Juergens was indicted in August; if convicted of the top count, Juergens faces two and one-third to seven years in prison, the then-DA said at the time. She has no prior criminal history, he said.

According to Assistant District Attorney Kim Carson, in August, 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, 2021, the dedication of a new lodge was held at the camp in honor of Andrew McMorris, 12, who was killed by a drunken driver, the former DA 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 the Cub Scouts boarded the bus with a teenaged counselor, officials 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 the stone pillar, when she sideswiped another vehicle; the driver of that vehicle stopped to communicate with her but she just "waved and kept driving," officials said last year.

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, officials said.

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

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

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.