A Pennsylvania school bus driver is accused of driving 54 elementary school students while intoxicated, with authorities saying her blood alcohol concentration measured 0.331% after a Feb. 6 route that ended with the bus stuck in a snowbank.
Montgomery County prosecutors said Tuesday that Kelly Weber, 46, of Boyertown, faces dozens of felony and misdemeanor counts tied to the ride, including driving under the influence and 54 counts each of endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment. Officials said the case grew out of reports from drivers and parents who described a bus weaving across lanes, narrowly missing vehicles and almost striking a utility pole as children rode home in the late afternoon.
Investigators said the incident unfolded around 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, after Douglass Township police were dispatched to check a school bus reported to be driving erratically near Jackson Road and Third Avenue in the Gilbertsville area. Officers later located the bus pulled over in a snowbank near Second Avenue and Gilbert Road, police said. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a statement that the allegations show “more than 50 young children were in a dangerous situation” during a route that continued for miles before it ended.
Police said Weber showed signs of impairment at the scene and did not pass field sobriety tests. Investigators said officers found an open 750-milliliter bottle of Tito’s vodka on the bus and two empty 50-milliliter bottles, along with a receipt showing the alcohol was purchased earlier that morning at a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store. Prosecutors said Weber agreed to a blood draw. Testing later reported a 0.331% blood alcohol concentration and detected a marijuana-related metabolite, according to county officials. Authorities said 54 children rode the bus that afternoon, including five younger than 6, and no child was physically injured.
Investigators said the number of children became clearer after they compared school attendance and trip records with what officers saw when they located the bus. According to charging documents summarized by local outlets, an officer found children still aboard when the bus was stopped, and records later showed more children had been transported earlier in the route. Officials said some students contacted parents during the ride because they were frightened by the way the bus was being driven. One student got off at an earlier stop and was picked up by parents, authorities said. A relative of a student, Carter Colon, told a Philadelphia-area television station that his younger brother was scared but told the family he would be OK.
The case also drew attention because of the lower alcohol threshold set by Pennsylvania law for people driving school buses and other school vehicles. For most drivers, the state’s DUI limit is 0.08%. For someone operating a school bus, the limit is far lower, and prosecutors said Weber’s reported level was well above both standards. Officials said bus video reviewed during the investigation showed the vehicle crossing the double-yellow line into oncoming lanes multiple times. A parent, Amanda Asbury, told local television that her son said the bus nearly hit a telephone pole and that students were frightened by what they believed was unsafe driving.
Steele and Douglass Township Police Chief Robert B. Evans said an arrest warrant was issued for Weber as the investigation moved forward. Prosecutors said Weber checked herself into a rehabilitation facility immediately after the incident. As of the county’s announcement, officials said arrangements were being made for her to surrender so she can be arraigned by a magisterial district judge, a step where bail is set and charges are formally read. Court scheduling information, including any preliminary hearing date, was not included in the public announcement, and officials did not say when she is expected to turn herself in.
The bus was operated by Quigley Bus Service, and the route involved students connected to Boyertown schools, officials and local reports said. The company told a Philadelphia-area station that Weber was fired and that it plans to expand drug and alcohol testing beyond what the state requires. A separate report said the Boyertown Area School District sent a message to families after the incident, saying it asked the bus contractor to review safety practices and screening procedures. Authorities have not released the names of children who were on the bus, and they have not said whether additional charges could be filed as the case proceeds.
For now, the case remains at the warrant stage, with prosecutors emphasizing that charges are allegations and Weber is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Officials said the next major step will be Weber’s surrender and arraignment, when bail conditions will be decided and the case will move into the early court process.
Author note: Last updated March 4, 2026.