Cal High School band tour bus driver arrested for DUI in Tennessee
A Smock man who was driving 38 California Area High School band students on a bus trip to Nashville was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia last Thursday.
Allen Newcomer, 51, a bus driver with Budget Charters of Adah in Fayette County, was taken into custody and arraigned by police in Tennessee, authorities confirmed Monday.
Police in Nashville stopped to help the bus while it was stopped on Briley Parkway, and as troopers conducted an inspection of the vehicle, they realized Newcomer may be under the influence. Police said the bus had 55 passengers, including 38 high school-aged children, 31 of whom were under 18.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, Newcomer “was observed with an obvious amount of a white powdery substance in his nostrils.”
Police said he consented to being searched, and they found two pill bottles, pills and a straw. One of the bottles was labeled Hydrocodone, the affidavit indicated. The second bottle was not labeled and had two different types of pills and crushed powder inside.
“The defendant admitted everything was his but stated that he had not used any since last night,” police wrote in the affidavit.