Troopers Arrest Drunk School Bus Driver Matthew Oliver Richard In Calcasieu Parish

Today, shortly before 8:00 a.m., a State Trooper assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop D observed a speeding school bus traveling south on Louisiana Highway 27 about 6 miles south of DeQuincy in Calcasieu Parish.  The bus, which is registered to the Calcasieu Parish School Board, was also observed weaving and operating left of the highway centerline.

The Trooper stopped the bus and determined that the driver, 26-year-old Matthew Oliver Richard of Sulphur, was intoxicated.  Richard was arrested and submitted a breath sample to determine alcohol intoxication.  The result was .211g% which is over 2 ½ times the legal limit in Louisiana.

No children were on the bus at the time of the traffic stop.  However, investigation revealed that just a short time earlier 49 children under 12 years of age were on the bus.  Those children were dropped off to area schools and no injuries were reported.

Further investigation revealed that an open bottle of alcohol found in Richard’s possession was stolen from an area supermarket earlier in the day.

Richard was charged with DWI with child endangerment, speeding 75 in a 55 mile per hour zone, improper lane usage, possession of an open alcoholic container in a motor vehicle, and theft under $500.  Richard was booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center.