Bolt Bus Driver Arrested for Allegedly Drunk Driving Full Bus

Bolt Bus pulled over by state trooper

via Tao Lin

This just in from a TC tipster – a Bolt Bus headed from NYC to DC just got pulled over, and the police proceeded to arrest the driver for drunk driving!

Our informant was on the 1:45 p.m. Bolt Bus from NYC to the Baltimore/ DC area when, at around 3:50 p.m., the cops pulled the coach over between exit 4 and exit 5 on the New Jersey Turnpike. A passenger on the bus had apparently called 9-11 to inform the police that the driver was suspected of being intoxicated.

As the state trooper pulled the bus over, the driver hurriedly put on his seatbelt. “Can you tell me my infraction, sir?” the driver said when the trooper reached his window. “Which one?” the trooper said, going on to tell the driver that he was going 15 over the speed limit, tailgating, and driving in the wrong lane. The officer proceeded to ask the driver to exit the bus, then give the driver repeated sobriety tests, and at around 4:10 p.m., escorted him away from the bus in handcuffs.

One passenger on the bus reported having seen a flask while others made quips about it being happy hour. Others said that they’ve complained about this driver before. All the passengers have been told that they will receive a refund. As of 5:20 p.m. eight of the fifty-two passengers have been moved to another Boltbus. The other forty-four are still waiting for another bus to arrive – hopefully with a driver that’s not drunk.

The arresting officer said this was the second drunk-driving bus-driver he had arrested this week and that both drivers would never be able to drive a bus again, though they would likely only lose their normal license for one year or so.

When we asked Bolt Bus for comment, they responded that they’re “conducting a full internal investigation of this matter.” Hope you guys get this all cleared up, Bolt Bus.