School Bus Driver Charged with DWI After Sideswiping Phone Pole

The New York State Police announce the arrest of Mary A. Coletti, 56, following an investigation of an early morning school bus collision in Cortlandt.

The investigation revealed that Coletti, a school bus driver for the Lakeland Central School District, sideswiped a telephone pole on Red Mill Road, at about 7AM. There were about 35 students from Walter Panas High School on the bus.

Troopers determined that the Cortlandt Manor resident was operating the school bus in an intoxicated condition and a subsequent breath test determined her blood alcohol content to be 0.13 percent. A few students reported minor injuries.

Coletti was charged with felony Driving While Intoxicated under “Leandra’s Law.” She was arraigned before Town Justice Gerald M. Klein and remanded to Westchester County Jail in lieu of $1000 bail to reappear in Cortlandt town court May 18.

State police are asking any witnesses to the incident to contact Investigator Sean J. Morgan at the Cortlandt Barracks at (914) 737-7171.