A charter bus driver has been arrested and charged with DUI after transporting high school students to a football game.
Students from Christ Presbyterian Academy were headed to the TSSAA game in Cookeville from Nashville.
Authorities said the driver, identified as 56-year-old Robert Michael Hoskinson, was arrested by Tennessee Highway Patrol officials once the students arrived in Cookeville.
Hoskinson was driving a company vehicle from Wise Coaches of Nashville. Authorities said they smelled a strong odor of alcohol, and Hoskinson failed a field sobriety test.
He has been charged with DUI, possession of alcohol on a motor coach (open container), and reckless endangerment of 56 students.
Those with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the students were safely returned home thanks to the help of Putnam County Schools Transportation Director Terry Randolph, Putnam County Director of Schools Jerry Boyd, and Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris.
The students were transported free of charge by Putnam County district school buses.
THP officials said they inspected all three motor coaches that had been rented by the school from Wise Coaches of Nashville, and they placed all three out of service. Reports stated one was due to the driver and DUI charge, the other two motor coaches had defective tires.
In a detailed Safety Measurement System report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration the safety rating of Wise Coaches Inc. was listed as satisfactory. The carrier had 23 driver inspections from the past 24 months, and there were no violations regarding drugs or alcohol.
Hoskinson has been scheduled to appear in court January 8. His bond has been set at $50,000.
