High school students Rose Reynolds and Trista Freeman were passengers on a Rhea County school bus in November 2018, the morning their bus driver Michael Ledbetter was arrested for driving under the influence.

Trista could smell alcohol on Ledbetter’s breath as she boarded the bus. Rose was one of several students who frantically contacted their parents as Ledbetter swerved between lanes and ran red lights.

After failing a sobriety test, Ledbetter’s blood alcohol level was found to be .127, well above the Tennessee legal limit of .08. Ledbetter is one of at least 118 drivers nationally who were caught operating a school bus while impaired since 2015.

Photographed for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline.