Boston School Van Drivers To Face Tighter Screenings

BOSTON (CBS) - School van drivers in Boston will soon undergo tighter screenings, after school officials discovered two employees driving with suspended licenses – one for drunk driving.

One of the drivers, Gerard Grimes has been transporting students at the McKinley Prep High School even though his driver's license was suspended last year.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

Authorities say he was caught twice driving drunk while in a school van, which he was not authorized to use on weekends.

Boston Public Schools spokesman Matt Wilder says no students were harmed, but the incidents were unacceptable.

"Students could have been at risk and that certainly something we're not willing to deal with," Wilder said.

Wilder says School Superintendent Carol Johnson is outraged about the lack of oversight.

Grimes and another van driver whose license expired, were both teachers' aides at McKinley and were not subject to the same strict screenings as school bus drivers.

Grimes and that other driver have both been suspended from their jobs.