A Caledonia woman was arrested Tuesday after allegedly rear-ending a school bus while drunk, then fleeing the scene and resisting arrest.
Ashley Marie Waddell, 34, was charged in connection to the wreck, which happened at about 3:30 p.m. on Jess Lyons Road, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said.
Hawkins said there were five students on the bus at the time of the accident, but no injuries were reported.
Waddell was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, driving with an expired tag, driving with no insurance and resisting arrest, Hawkins said.
All of the charges are misdemeanors, Hawkins said, though the DUI charge could become a felony depending on if Waddell has any prior arrests.
The bond for all five charges was roughly $2,120, according to records from the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.
A second, unrelated accident involving another school bus also occurred around the same Tuesday afternoon on Highway 69, Hawkins said. Mississippi Highway Patrol is responsible for investigating the second accident, he said.
MHP Sgt. Derrick Beckom told The Dispatch Wednesday that this second accident, which happened about a half-mile south of the Columbus city limits, involved a vehicle that was pulling a trailer.
The trailer and the school bus ended up bumping into each other, Beckom said, but damage was limited, as he said only a piece of reflective material on the bus was affected.
However, to follow school protocol, Beckom said the driver reported the accident and called another bus to pick up the remaining children on board. No one was injured in that accident, Beckom said.
Lowndes County School District Public Information Officer Adam Minichino told The Dispatch in a text message that both buses involved were from the county district. Both buses were near the end of their routes with only a “few” students on each bus when the accidents occurred, he said.
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