A Baldwin County school bus driver was arrested and charged with DUI after allegedly transporting students while impaired, according to Orange Beach police and Baldwin County Public Schools officials.
The incident happened shortly after 5 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, when the bus driver reportedly told a security guard at Ono Island that the bus had struck a sign. The guard alerted police, who responded to investigate and ultimately arrested the driver on a DUI charge.
A spokesman for Baldwin County Public Schools confirmed that four students were on board the bus at the time of the incident. Parents of those students were contacted and came to pick up their children following the arrest. School officials said the bus involved, identified as Bus 09-11, normally serves students traveling to and from Gulf Shores High School and Gulf Shores Middle School.
The district spokesman emphasized that student safety remained the top priority for the school system and said officials were treating the incident with the seriousness it warranted. He confirmed that Baldwin County Public Schools had already arranged for an alternate driver to operate Bus 09-11 starting the following morning, ensuring the affected route would not be disrupted for students who rely on it.
As of the initial confirmation of the arrest, the driver’s name had not been publicly released. Orange Beach police indicated additional details about the case, including formal charges and any further information about the investigation, would be released the following morning.
The Orange Beach Police Department and Baldwin County Public Schools worked together to confirm details of the arrest to media the same night it occurred, reflecting the seriousness with which both agencies treated an incident involving a school bus and young passengers.
Incidents involving school transportation safety tend to draw significant attention from parents and communities, particularly in coastal Baldwin County communities like Orange Beach and Gulf Shores where school buses regularly travel through areas with heavy seasonal tourist traffic. The swift response from both police and school officials, including the immediate reassignment of a new driver for the affected route, reflected an effort to reassure families that the situation was being handled promptly.
Baldwin County Public Schools has not indicated whether the incident would prompt any broader review of driver screening or safety procedures across the district’s bus fleet, though officials reiterated that student safety remains the system’s central focus following any incident involving a school vehicle.