A Caledonia woman who allegedly rear-ended a school bus while drunk Tuesday now faces two possible felony counts connected to the wreck.
Ashley Marie Waddell, 34, is charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault, in addition to five existing misdemeanor counts, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins confirmed to The Dispatch.
Waddell is accused of crashing into the Lowndes County School District bus at about 3:30 p.m. on Jess Lyons Road. She was initially charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, driving with an expired tag, driving with no insurance and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors.
But Waddell’s charges were later updated to include the other charges.
Hawkins said Waddell had a child with her in the car during the accident, and then fled with the child before being arrested, which led to the DUI child endangerment charge.
DUI child endangerment only becomes a felony if the charge is a third violation or if a child is seriously injured or killed, according to state law.
While originally reporting there were no injuries, Hawkins said Thursday a student getting off the bus when it was hit suffered a bruised foot. That led to the felony aggravated assault charge, he said.
The bond for all seven charges was roughly $3,496, according to records from the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.
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