21 charges added for bus driver accused of being impaired with children on board

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — A bus driver with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is now facing more charges after she’s accused of getting behind the wheel while impaired with students on board.

The bus driver, 70-year-old Sylvia Dollard, was arrested again and is now facing child abuse charges.

Dollard is suspended with pay from CMS, and Queen City News found out this isn’t the first time she’s been disciplined by the district.

Dollard’s new arrest is for the same incident but on different charges. She is accused of driving while impaired with 21 students on board a bus from Oakdale Elementary last Thursday.

She’s now facing 21 misdemeanor child abuse charges. That’s in addition to her original charge of driving while impaired.

Riley Lea’s two kids were on the bus and came running home to tell her the driver was driving erratically. She says she and another mom blocked the driver in, just in case she tried to pull away from the scene.

“It’s sad to hear that because I don’t wish nothing bad for that lady, but you put yourself but not only yourself, but you put kids at risk, and that’s not OK,” said Lea.

A police report states the 21 students on board ranged from 6 to 10 years old.

Court documents reveal Dollard performed poorly on a field sobriety test, had a negative portable breath test, and that the officer suspected drug impairment.

It’s unclear the type of drug Dollard is accused of having in her system.

CMS says Dollard started driving as a substitute bus driver in March of 2014 but retired from the district later that year. But she was then rehired as a bus driver trainee in 2019 and resigned later that year, was brought back in 2021, and then suspended with pay for about a week in 2022.

The district won’t disclose details of why Dollard was previously suspended.

CMS says bus drivers have to pass a drug test and a background check before they’re hired.

Drivers are also put in a random drug testing pool and random tests are done throughout the school year.

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