School bus driver arrested on DUI charge after crashing bus with no students in Duval County

Florida Times Union | By Emily Bloch | October 28, 2021

A school bus driver was arrested Thursday morning for driving under the influence after crashing her bus into an embankment traveling southbound on I-295, the Florida Highway Patrol said. No children were on the bus during the early morning crash. 

Lisa Annette Mims, 58, who was driving a school bus through Duval County, attempted to take the I-10 eastbound exit while traveling on the highway, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release. Instead, she “failed to safely negotiate the curve” and went onto the road’s shoulder, the release said.

Duval County Public School officials confirmed the bus and driver were not part of its fleet. It’s unclear what school the bus driver was headed to, though First Coast News confirmed the bus belonged to Besi Transportation.

The bus struck an interstate sign and drove down the embankment, according to release. The bus only stopped after hitting the tree line of the exit ramp. Mims was accompanied by a 62-year-old male bus monitor, the Highway Patrol report said. Neither were injured and no other vehicles were involved in the accident, according to the report. 

The incident took place at about 5:50 a.m. according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 

According to First Coast News, Mims’ eyes were glossy and showed signs of drinking. Mims told police she doesn’t “drink or do drugs because she is a minister’s wife.” She failed to complete the officers’ field sobriety exercises, her body swaying most of the time. 

In addition to DUI, the driver was also facing crash-related charges, the agency said.