DAVIS COUNTY, Utah — The Davis School District bus driver accused of driving a busload of students while under the influence of prescription drugs is out on $120 bail.
Lycia Kae Martinez, 39, has been charged with DUI, a class A misdemeanor, and failure to stay in one lane, a class C misdemeanor, in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court.
The initial incident took place on October 13, 2014, when a chaperone inside Martinez’s bus called 911 to report several near-collisions with surrounding vehicles. “She almost hit this van next to us!” the chaperone told dispatchers as the bus sped through southern Salt Lake County on the way to Brigham Young University in Provo for a field trip. “OK, I am honestly shaking at this point. I’m going to just close my eyes so I see nothing.”
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper caught up with the bus and arrested Martinez. Police said there were about 70 schoolchildren on board.
According to a probable cause statement, four bottles of pills were found in Martinez’s purse: clonidine, cyclobenzaprine, Xanax, and meloxicam.
Martinez’s attorney said she was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but was suffering from a migraine and was distracted by several radio calls.
Her license was suspended for 120 days, which she is trying to get reinstated.
Martinez’s initial hearing is scheduled for March16.
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