Former Westerly school bus driver pleads not guilty to DUI
By: Rebecca Turco
Email: rturco@abc6.com
WEST GREENWICH, R.I. – A former Westerly school bus driver plead not guilty to driving drunk.
Police say Shelly Way, 52, was three times over the legal drinking limit when she drove a bus of high school students from a track meet on December 13.
“I just can’t fathom that,” said West Greenwich Police Chief Richard Ramsay. “It just turns my stomach.”
No one else was on the bus when police arrested Way on Route 3 in West Greenwich. Police say the coach had instructed her to pull over before then and drop them off.
"We entrust our children’s safety to that school bus driver and this was just apprehensible,” said Ramsay.
Police received numerous 911 calls that night about Way’s driving.
She blew a .241 on her first breathalyzer test and .236 on the second, according to the police report. Police found 12 nips of vodka in her purse. Half of them were empty.
"For her to get behind the wheel of a bus after drinking, knowingly with children on the bus, I can’t even put into words how that makes me feel," Ramsey said.
Way has a prior DUI charge out of California from 1988. She is no longer a bus driver for Westerly Public Schools.
Way is out on bail and due back in court February 15 for a pre-trial hearing.
© WLNE-TV 2016
