Stevi school bus driver faces multiple felonies
A Stevensville School District bus driver is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly driving under the influence while transporting kids to school.
76-year-old Janette Viola Sessions, of Stevensville, appeared before Judge Jennifer Ray in Ravalli County Justice Court on Wednesday, May 24 on nine charges of criminal child endangerment and one count of criminal endangerment, all felonies. She was also charged with misdemeanor driving while under the influence and failure to give notice of a crash.
According to court documents, the Ravalli County 911 Call Center received multiple reports of a school bus running off the road and crashing into fences around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 23. Ravalli County Sheriff's deputies located and stopped the bus on the Eastside Highway.
Passengers on the bus included two children under the age of 14 years old, and 10 children over the age of 14. Law enforcement determined that the bus had been travelling on Three Mile Creek Road and the made a left onto Ridge Lane. According to law enforcement the bus accelerated into the turn fast enough to leave tire tracks on the roadway before veering off the right side of the road and hitting a fence. Children on the bus reported that the collision caused Sessions to fall from the driver's seat of the bus. Sessions reportedly kept driving, re-entering the roadway of Ridge Lane before going off the left side of the road, and striking another fence. The driver then reportedly attempted to reverse the bus back onto the road, but ended up driving into a nearby field to turn around. Sessions allegedly then drove the bus back onto the roadway, according to law enforcement, fleeing the scene of the crashes. She then proceeded to pick up an additional 11 children on her route, seven of which are under the age of 14. Sessions reportedly continued driving in a similar manner until she was pulled over by law enforcement.
Sessions reportedly appeared unsteady when law enforcement spoke with her, telling the trooper that she hit a fence and that three fence posts "just fell over," and that she "didn't know" that she had to stop and had kept going. Law enforcement further reported that Sessions admitted that children on the bus were yelling at her, but that she told them to sit down and shut up.
Sessions denied the use of any alcohol or drugs, but told law enforcement she had taken a "water pill" along with an anti-anxiety medication and an aspirin. Sessions was unable to name the anti-anxiety medication she claimed to have taken. After ruling out the possibility of a medical emergency the trooper conducted standardized field sobriety tests and a drug recognition expert evaluation throughout which Sessions allegedly exhibited difficulties with balance and coordination, confusion, and "significant troubles with divided attention tasks." The trooper reported that Sessions was unable to maintain focus, visibly swayed and struggled to comply with tests.
Blood samples were obtained from Sessions and are being evaluated by the State Crime Lab. The investigation is ongoing at this time.
At her arraignment on Wednesday, Sessions again denied the use of any drugs or alcohol. County attorney Bill Fulbright requested the court set bail at $5,000 along with a number of provisions related to Sessions release, including restrictions on drug or alcohol use, and use of her commercial driver's license.
"The court is well aware from the affidavit the degree of risk and the conduct that's involved here and we think it's appropriate to have a monetary bail in that neighborhood," Fulbright said. "On the other hand, that's probably a little lower than I might ordinarily recommend, and that's a reflection of, in this case, the defendant has no criminal history, and no adverse driving history."
Judge Ray initially lamented the low bail, stating that she fully expected the state to ask for close to $100,000 given the nature of the case.
"Based on the number of felonies, based on the affidavit that was filed in this matter, based on what we could be sitting on here today had things not turned out just a tiny bit different, we were looking at a mass casualty event, something was going on yesterday," Ray said.
After stating that she felt the county attorney had been more than generous in this case, Ray accepted the state's request and set bail at $5,000.
Results of the toxicology investigation are still pending at this time.
