Former Mississippi officer faces 39 years for fatal DUI crash at school bus stop

BARTOW, Fla. — A former law enforcement officer faces up to 39 years in prison for killing one child and injuring four others in a drunken hit-and-run crash at a Florida bus stop.

The Ledger reports that 49-year-old John Camfield pleaded no contest last week to DUI manslaughter and several other charges. His sentencing is scheduled for April 5.

Authorities say Camfield hit five Dundee Ridge Middle Academy students walking along the shoulder of a Poinciana road last April. Witnesses say he tried to speed away but crashed into another vehicle. One boy died a day later.

Camfield's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.175 percent after the crash. Florida law considers a driver impaired at 0.08 percent.

Before moving to Florida in 2012, Camfield worked for for more than 10 different agencies in Mississippi — including Yalobusha County Sheriff's Office, Tunica County Sheriff's Office and the Oxford Police Department.