Bus drivers arrested for DUI; parents furious

By Adam Murphy

Click here for updates on this story

    ATLANTA, Georgia (WGCL) — Several parents in Pickens County are furious with the school district after two bus drivers were arrested for DUI.

Ashley Wilson said her daughter is afraid to ride the school bus after what happened last week.

“She was frantically screaming and hollering, and you could hear the kids in the back screaming and hollering and you could hear the bus driver asking them to be quiet,” Wilson said. “If that bus had went off and swerved on the other side, we might not have kids right now.”

According to investigators, Pickens County bus driver Jeffrey Tucker crashed into a ditch on Fortner Road on Friday but before police could arrive at the scene the school system gave him another bus to finish the route and let him leave, according to Georgia State Patrol’s initial report. He was later arrested for DUI at the school bus yard.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. Why do it that way? Why go about it that way? Because you all were covering your butts,” Wilsons said.

Then on Monday, another bus driver Tammy Decerbo was arrested and charged with DUI. According to the incident report, she was driving her personal car on East Church Road most likely after running her morning route. She is suspected of being under the influence of a prescription medication that impaired her driving.

“Excuse my language, but they don’t give a damn about our children. It’s a job to them,” Wilsons said.

The Pickens County School District released a statement saying they take the matter very seriously and student safety is their highest priority, but they would not agree to talk on camera about it and neither would any of the school board members.

“Just communicate with us. That’s all we want is communication because they’re under a lot of fire right now,” Wilson said.

Both Tucker and Decerbo face serious charges and the school district has not said whether they’re still employed.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.