According to a release from the Crestview Police Department, officers responded at 1:35 p.m. Friday, June 19, to a crash involving an Okaloosa County School District school bus near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Ferdon Boulevard (State Road 85).
Investigators determined that the driver of the school bus, 62-year-old Mechelle Prevoznik of Crestview, backed the bus into a vehicle that was stopped behind it.
During the investigation, officers reported smelling the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Prevoznik and conducted a DUI investigation. According to the release, she showed signs of impairment during field sobriety tests.
Prevoznik, who holds a commercial driver’s license to operate a school bus, was detained and later provided a breath sample that measured a blood alcohol concentration of 0.048.
Under Florida law, commercial driver’s license holders are prohibited from operating a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 or higher.
Six children were on the school bus at the time of the crash. Because the collision occurred at a low speed while the bus was backing up, no injuries were reported.
Prevoznik was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and six counts of child neglect without bodily harm.
She was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail without incident.
