Fired bus driver caught drinking on job says she thought can was non-alcoholic
A bus driver who was sacked after drinking alcohol while taking students to school has admitted she "made a mistake" - as she can't taste.
Amal Hanna, 60, has been left distraught after she was relieved from her duties as a Long Island bus driver after she grabbed a White Claw beverage from a fridge she shares with a roommate on Wednesday. The driver, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, is a teetotal and can't taste alcohol as she's undergoing treatment. She thought the drink, between 5% and 8% alcohol, was non-alcoholic.
But after admitting she made a "mistake" as she didn't read the label, the bus driver won't be charged by police. However, she faces losing her home after her main source of income was taken away from her. Battling tears, she told News12: “It was just a mistake, it was a mistake. For people like me that don’t drink — how are they going to know this is alcohol? “I have been crying and crying, I don’t even have any more tears. I’m frightened I’m going to be on the street because of a mistake."
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Amal, who has been a bus driver since 2006, admitted she will miss the schoolchildren from Smithtown High School West, she revealed: "I love the kids, I love my company. I go in the morning, so happy, see the kids, say 'Good morning, how are you?' Give them a big smile ... makes my life happy when I see the kids going to school happy."
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She claims she didn't see the White Claw alcohol percentage (Getty Images for White Claw)In a message to parents on Wednesday, Superintendent Mark Secaur said the driver had immediately been removed from her, he said: "It was confirmed that an alcoholic beverage was on board, and the driver was promptly taken from the bus, and a different driver completed the route."
Smithtown school district officials also said she “will no longer transport any Smithtown student.” “Our students’ safety is of the utmost importance to the Smithtown Central School District and we will remain steadfast in our efforts to create a safe environment for all our students,” Secaur told parents in an email, noting that the district has “zero tolerance for this behavior.”
Amal has been a bus driver since 2006 (News 12)Several parents have come out in support of Amal and believe it was a genuine mistake and that she should be allowed her job back. “She was so sweet and kind to them, I can't imagine she would ever do anything to harm them. I think it was a very honest mistake”, one parent said. Meanwhile, police confirmed they won't press charges against the former bus driver after believing it was a mistake.
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