Police: Rogers man who hit bus failed sobriety tests
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The driver of a car that collided with a stopped school bus last week had almost three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system, according to Bella Vista police.
A report on the accident noted that Kevin McMillian, 33, of Rogers, had a blood alcohol content of 0. 236 percent. The legal limit in Arkansas is 0. 08 percent.
The report indicates McMillian was at the wheel of a 1987 Oldsmobile Delta that hit the rear of a Bentonville School District bus just after 4 p.m. Monday, April 28, on Cooper Road near Britten Circle.
The bus driver, Bobby Jones, had just dropped off one student and had one more child, a girl, left on the bus.
Nobody in either vehicle was injured.
McMillian was given a Breathalyzer test at the scene, and the result was 0. 180 percent, according to the police report.
The higher numbers came from a test given at the Benton County Jail later in the day.
McMillian was charged with driving while intoxicated and following too closely.
While the car striking the bus was a surprise, Jones knew exactly what to do. "We just finished the evacuation drill earlier (in the day )," he said.
This was the second accident in the city involving a bus this school year.
In November, a bus passed over one of the children that had just gotten off, resulting in a head wound that required four staples to close.
The driver, Don Espeseth, 75, has said all along he did not know the accident happened and continued driving his route that day.
Last week, under a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury. However, his admission was not immediately accepted by the judge, who wants the prosecution to provide case law on whether a person can be charged with leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident, even if he or she is unaware of being in an accident.
A decision in Espeseth's case is expected May 12.
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