COLUMBUS, Ohio — New details have been released regarding the Upper Arlington bus driver who was accused of driving high school students while impaired earlier this month.
On Nov. 2, high school students reported concerns about what they felt was erratic driving to one of the school's resource officers. At the time of the incident, students were being driven from Upper Arlington High School to Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in downtown Columbus.
According to an incident report from Upper Arlington Police, the driver, Melissa Miller, was later located by an officer while she was exiting Giant Eagle, located in the Kingsdale Shopping Center. When asked what roads she was driving students on, she became confused and couldn't remember which highway she had been on. She also had trouble finishing sentences and was slurring her words.
The report states that Miller initially said she wasn't on any medication but later said she was prescribed Tylenol 3 and an inhaler in the days prior. Tylenol 3 is a medication that comes with a warning not to operate heavy machinery while taking it.
When recounting the driven bus route to the officer, the report said that Miller seemed distracted and had trouble focusing on the task at hand.
The officer administered multiple sobriety tests to Miller, in which she failed more than one.
She is charged with OVI and prohibited acts with a class A CDL while operating a school bus for Upper Arlington City Schools. She is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court for a continued arraignment hearing on Nov. 28.