OWI school bus driver; Hartland Man accused of 29 total counts

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Walter Cunningham appears in Waukesha County Court

Hartland, Wis. – A Hartland man is accused of operating a school bus while he is intoxicated with students on board on Monday. In addition to Owi, he is accused of 28 reckless security positions in second degree.

Walter Cunningham, 72, made his initial appearance in court on Wednesday. Judicial records show that their bonus was established at $ 1 million.

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Arrested bus driver

What they are saying:

A criminal complaint establishes that there were 27 children, between the ages of 4 and 14, on the bus that day.

Prosecutors said a student on the bus called 911 to inform that their bus driver, now identified as Cunningham, would not let the students out of the bus. Dispatch pointed out “much chaos and screams” at the bottom of the phone call.

The officers arrived at the scene and found “a group of children running on the road and on the side of the bus,” according to the complaint. The bus moved away, but the officer stopped him at Marquette Court and spoke with Cunningham.

The prosecutors said that Cunningham told the police that he was trying to find out where he needed to go on the route, and that the children were “screaming” and “all irritated.” He said a father stopped in front of him, wanting his children out of the bus after one of them called what was happening.

School bus driver arrested in Hartland (courtesy: Angelique Tober)

The complaint says that Cunningham then said that he picked up the children but did not stop or leave any of them. He said he never threw anyone out of the bus, but said they “flew outside the bus.” The detectives said many of the children tried to walk home, crossing the roads during the peak time.

The officer said that Cunningham’s speech was sometimes dragged, thick and heavy, according to judicial presentations. His eyes looked glassy and his balance “was not normal.”

Cunningham also told the police, according to prosecutors, that “he takes many” prescription medications, but denied having drunk something. The police sought the prescriptions that Cunningham said that he had taken that day, one of which had a warning that it can “affect the trial, thought or motor skills and that users must be cautious when operating machinery.”

The judicial presentations said that a preliminary breath test yielded 0.00 results, and Cunningham conducted field sobriety tests. The officer determined that Cunningham’s capacity to operate a motorized vehicle was affected and could not do it safely. ”

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When they told him that he was under arrest by Owi, the complaint says that Cunningham “laughed out loud.”

The researchers also talked to children and parents.

A girl said she hit her head on numerous occasions when Cunningham crashed into the breaks, according to the complaint, describing her headache as a “8 of 10”. A different child said that Cunningham “almost crashed into a car,” and a third boy told a father who thought that “the bus was so fast that it was going to tip.”

The complaint establishes that one of the children described what happened as “the most scary day of my life” and said: “I thought I was going to kidnap us.”

Bus video, GPS

What they are saying:

The prosecutors said he was “clear based on the audio of the bus images” that Cunningham “had a great lack of respect for the children on the bus and it really seemed that he did not care.”

The judicial documents say that the video showed that the bus stopped abruptly on numerous occasions in “insecure and dangerous places”, including the medium of the road. He also showed that when he stopped when he faced the parents, he initially left the driver’s seat without putting the bus in the park.

School bus driver arrested in Hartland (courtesy: Angelique Tober)

According to the complaint, based on the GPS and the surveillance video, a representative of the bus company, Dousman Transport Company, told the police that it seemed to be “more a misunderstanding.” The representative said that Cunninhgam lost the initial stop and became a subdivision for the back track, at which time several children thought their stop had been lost. The representative said it was not the normal route of Cunningham.

The judicial documents said that the video showed Cunningham shouted to the students who were not sitting properly, and told them to “shut up” and sit several times. The video showed the children shouting Cunningham that a stop was lost, to which Cunningham told them yes, and all the children continued screaming, and Cunningham shouted.

Prosecutors said the children told Cunningham that “he cannot talk to them like that,” to which he said: “I am God on this bus.”

The video also captured the confrontation with the father, during which the father walked to the bus door, climbed and Cunningham began shouting at the father, according to the complaint. The children began to walk forward, and Cunningham jumped to prevent them from getting out of the bus, at which time the bus began to advance. Cunningham quickly sat down and put the bus in the park. Cunningham and the parents continued talking, during which Cunningham was “clearly worked.” The children began to get off the bus, and Cunningham no longer tried to stop them. Once all the children were out of the bus, he began to get away.

In court

What follows?

Cunningham must return to the Court for a preliminary hearing in March.

The school district said Tuesday that it was offering additional support for students and families involved. District leaders plan to meet with the school bus company next week.

Official declaration

Dousman Transport Company (January 28, 2025)

“On January 27, 2025, one of the drivers of the Dousman (DTC) transport company was arrested by charges of operating a school bus while it is intoxicated and safety recklessly. DTC has confirmed the following information. This bus It was operating an afternoon route to take home the Hartland Lakeside school.

“This matter remains under investigation. A review of the images of the camera on board and the GPS data indicate that the driver lost his direction on the route and lost multiple stops of students. According to the Hartland Police Department, there were no indications that alcohol was involved in this incident.