Police said the driver, 48-year-old Catherine Maccarone, was driving under the influence on September 12 in Longview, Washington. A person had called 911 to report that a woman was driving a Longview School District bus and "appeared to be intoxicated," police said.
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Newly released video captured panic on the bus as young students screamed while on the edge of their seats.
"I am crazy," Maccarone is heard saying. "I'm totally crazy."
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A boy rushed home to call 911, and in the call, the child told the dispatcher that he's making the call instead of his mother because she does not speak English.
"Ummm, yea, hello. ... We just got off the bus -- me and my friend. And on bus 8 ... the bus driver, Catherine, she was drunk," a child can be heard telling the 911 dispatcher in audio released to ABC News. "She passed three red lights and she got on the side road by the 76. And there's still kids on there. And I was telling my friend to get off with me -- and his sister -- but the bus driver wouldn't let him."
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The child told the dispatcher that the bus driver was "wobbling."
"Her eyes, you can tell, she was drunk," he said.
Maccarone drove 90 students that afternoon and was later arrested. She has been charged with DUI and two counts of reckless endangerment. Officers noted they, "smelled an obvious odor of intoxicants."
The school district said it has implemented a new safety procedure to better screen bus drivers.
"At Longview Public Schools safety and security of our students and staff is a top priority," Rick Parrish, the district's communications coordinator, said in a statement earlier this month. "The district will complete an investigation into the incident very soon and notify the public of the outcome. In the meantime, an initial review of transportation processes and procedures has taken place and resulted in changes to the bus key check out process. Additionally, the district has invited a state Department of Education transportation manager to review our transportation processes and provide feedback from improvement."
Maccarone could not be reached for comment by ABC News, but she has since resigned. The school district said she had been working as a bus driver for one year and that, to its knowledge, she had not been reported or investigated for similar alleged incidents in the past. She will appear in court in about two weeks.