Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker says she won’t be charging a former Elkhart Community Schools bus driver with impaired driving because of problems with how school officials handled the case.
Becker on Wednesday issued a statement saying she can’t file charges against the driver, who she did not name, because the evidence was “tainted and inadmissible.”
First, Becker says school officials waited too long to report the January incident to police and the Department of Child Services, despite knowing the driver had tested positive for alcohol at an outpatient medical clinic after the incident.
After a months-long Indiana State Police investigation, Becker says she considered charges against both the driver and school officials for failing to timely report child abuse or neglect. She also says the district violated federal transportation rules when it gave the driver a breath test without first making “reason suspicion findings.”
Further, Becker says, the breath test that was offered was not conducted on an instrument that is approved by the Indiana State Department of Toxicology and admissible in court.
But the district released a statement saying staff followed federal transportation regulations in handling the incident.
"ECS conducted further review of its protocols, including its duty to report this incident to DCS," the statement says. "Based on its further review, ECS took employment actions to remedy any violations of Indiana law or board policy concerning this incident."
NOTE: In full disclosure Elkhart Community Schools holds the broadcast license for WVPE.
