What's an interesting twist on drunk driving your own car down a state parkway? Drunk driving a bus down a state parkway. What's an interesting twist on drunk driving a bus down a state parkway? Being employed as a bus driver, and drunk driving the aforementioned bus on your day off.
NYC bus driver Alexander Copeland, 52, was the subject of many concerned 911 phone calls as he piloted an MTA bus on Nassau County's Northern State Parkway around 2 p.m. on Sunday, weaving erratically. He was pulled over, and state police determined he smelled strongly of alcohol, which was confirmed after he failed a sobriety test. He had a blood-alcohol reading of .20 percent—more than double the legal .08 limit.
Copeland was charged with driving while intoxicated, second-degree reckless endangerment and unauthorized use of a vehicle without the owner's consent.
The bus had been parked on the street because the Jamaica Depot apparently lacks the space to hold all of the MTA's vehicles, NBC New York reports.
Copeland, who has been with the MTA since 1998, was suspended without pay.
