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- A Connecticut man was arrested after he allegedly slept while driving a school bus with children on board
- Though no kids were aboard Paul Pixley's bus when he was arrested, police said he had been sleeping with kids on board earlier in the day
- One student frantically snapped photos of Pixley and sent them to her mother with the captions: "OMGG" and "My bus driver is sleeping"
A bus driver in Connecticut was arrested for allegedly falling asleep at the wheel while driving with children in tow.
Shelton Police received calls about a bus driver falling asleep at the wheel and swerving all over the road on the afternoon of Dec. 16.
Officers did not see children on the bus when they pulled over Paul Pixley near Nicholas Avenue and Earl Street. An assistant manager of Landmark Transportation came to the scene to drive the bus back, police said.
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It was later determined that Pixley had driven the bus with 30 children on board the same day he was pulled over. The 55-year-old appeared to fall asleep several times and children were getting off at earlier bus stops, according to Shelton police.
As Pixley allegedly slept at the wheel, one student frantically called her mother, Vienna Dipiave, and said she feared for her life. The student also snapped photos of Pixley with the captions "OMGG," "Sleep" and "My bus driver is sleeping."
"She was like, 'Mom, our bus is going to crash,'" Dipiave said. "She goes, 'Our bus driver's falling asleep.' She sent me a barage of texts: 'Mom, hurry up,' 'Mom, I'm scared.'"
Pixley was charged with 30 counts of risky of injury to a minor, breach of peace, reckless endangerment and reckless driving. His bond was set at $75,000.
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"Be assured that this driver will never drive for our school system ever again," Superintendent Chris Clouet said in a statement.
