A 53-year-old Hanover woman was arraigned on drunken driving and child endangerment charges Friday after police say she was drunk behind the wheel while transporting dozens of kids in Pembroke.
Police say Bethann Sweeney was visible drunk when she was stopped while driving 28 teens and two adults home from the closing ceremony of the Hingham Unified Special Olympics basketball tournament.
People on the bus told police they had to tell Sweeney she was about to get on Route 3 south for the trip north.
They say she ran a red light to get to the correct on ramp. Then, during the trip on Route 3, they say she swerved and hit rumble strips a few times.
One of the students dialed 911 for help.
School officials say adults on the bus convinced Sweeney she should pull over.
State police caught up to the bus at the Pembroke/Marshfield off ramp and spoke with her in a Friendly’s parking lot. Sweeney denied drinking but after allegedly failing field sobriety tests – troopers wrote in their report Sweeney admitted, “It was only a matter of time before I got caught.”
One Higham parent told us she was tracking her kids phones on the bus ride home and became very concerned when she saw them stopped in Pembroke.
She drove right to the Friendlys to get her kids home safe.
Hingham school officials did not respond to questions, but they released a statement saying: “We are deeply concerned by the incident, and more importantly, the distress this caused our students. We are grateful to our staff on board the bus, who responded immediately, acted quickly and responsibly, to protect the safety of our students.”
Sweeney’s lawyer argued she regretted the events of Thursday night and asked for no bail. However, the court said she would be held on $5,000 bail and, if released, Sweeney would not be able to drive and must take an alcohol test three times a day.
She is expected back in court in December.
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