Nicholas County school bus driver arrested on DUI charges after almost crashing on route

NICHOLAS COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A Nicholas County school bus driver has been arrested on DUI charges.

Casey Dodrill, 33, was charged on Thursday.

Concerned parent Danielle McGuire, whose daughter attends Gauley River Elementary School, she said this bus driver should never be allowed to drive a school bus again.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I was like, why would a bus driver put all those kids in danger like that? I mean, what was he thinking?”

The Nicholas County Board of Education said on March 8th, an aide with the school district called the West Virginia State Police to report bus driver Casey Dodrill after the aide noticed he was allegedly driving erratically while taking students home from Richwood High School and Gauley River Elementary.

According to the criminal complaint, a teacher’s aide called to report an incident where Dodrill nearly crashed Nicholas County School Bus 134. The complaint said Dodrill allegedly drove the bus off the road and almost failed to recover.

“This is very serious, and we are taking it very seriously,” Personnel Director for Nicholas County Schools Mellissa Adkins said. “We put our babies on a school bus every morning, and we have every right to expect that bus operators will transport them to and from school safely.”

Superintendent Dr. Donna Burge-Tetrick said around 50 students were on the bus during afternoon run. When the driver was arrested, students were no longer on the bus.

“Any further suspensions or dismissals related to this incident would be done according to West Virginia law,” Adkins said. “It’s our priority to keep our students safe.”

The near-crash happened on Dodrill’s route taking children home from Gauley River Elementary School and Richwood High School.

The complaint said Dodrill admitted to officers that he had drank six beers that day and, “had a lot on his mind.”

Dodrill then failed three field sobriety tests: a walk and turn test, horizontal eye gaze, and a one leg stand test. He also blew a .118 on a breathalyzer test.

A second employee is also on administrative leave for allegedly knowing the accused bus driver was intoxicated.

Dr. Burge-Tetrick said after learning that the charge is a misdemeanor, the district contacted Delegates Caleb Hanna, Heather Tully and Senator Vince Deeds who all represent Nicholas County.

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