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School Bus Driver Suspected Of DUI While Transporting Students

Burton Carpenter
Burton Carpenter (credit: Westminster Police Department)

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - Police said a school bus driver suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol sideswiped a vehicle at Mountain Range High School on Saturday.

Burton Carpenter, 57, is faces charges of child abuse, reckless endangerment, DUI and careless driving.

The incident occurred at approximately noon. Westminster police said Carpenter was transporting the freshman football team -- 37 students and four adults -- from Prairie View High School to Mountain Range High School when the accident happened.

"From some of the witness statements and some people that were on the bus we had an indication that maybe alcohol may be involved," Cheri Spottke with Westminster police said.

"Drinking and driving is not good anytime … but it just makes it worse when you got a bus full of kids," parent Joe Henderson said. "You send your kids to school and you trust that people are going to take care of them."

Carpenter has been an Adams County bus driver for just over year. He's now on paid administrative leave from the district.

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