Cops: Bus driver drunk with 35 kids on board

A 56-year-old bus driver for the Lakeland School District is facing felony drunk-driving charges after sideswiping a telephone pole with 35 high school students on board early Monday, state police said.

The incident occurred Monday morning at approximately 7 a.m., state police said.

Mary Coletti, a driver for the Lakeland School District, was transporting the Walter Panas High School students when she hit a telephone pole on Red Mill Road, according to state police.

Police said a breathalyzer test showed Coletti had a 0.13 percent blood alcohol content — 0.05 higher than the legal threshold for drunken driving.

According to Lakeland Superintendent George Stone, Coletti's bus driver's license has been revoked and there was a new bus driver that afternoon.

"As a district that places our very highest priority on the safety and security of our students, we're very concerned about what happened," Stone said. "We are going to cooperate with the police in their investigation. We're conducting our own investigation as well and plan to take all appropriate actions as necessary."

Stone said the district, which runs its own buses, puts its drivers through "very rigorous" safety programs along with regular testing for drugs and alcohol. Coletti, he said, slipped by those testing protocols.

Coletti faces felony driving while intoxicated charges under Leandra's Law, which penalizes those who drive drunk with children on board. She was arraigned in town court and sent to Westchester County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail. She is scheduled to return to court on May 18 at 9 a.m.

According to the Lakeland website, bus drivers for the district start work at 5:30 a.m. with vehicle inspections before beginning to make their rounds at 6:30 a.m.

The school district could not immediately be reached for comment.

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

Twitter: @coynereports