Startled school bus driver slams into NC house

CHARLOTTE — A school bus driver who thought her bus was empty was startled so badly when a sleeping student woke up that she swerved and slammed into a house in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday the 15-year-old girl had fallen asleep and missed her drop-off at the Northwest School of the Arts. The driver was in a neighborhood on her way to pick up students for another bus route when she saw the teenager wake up.

The driver lost control, hit a curb and plowed into the house.

The 81-year-old woman inside the nearly destroyed house, the driver and the student weren’t seriously injured.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said the driver, whose name hasn’t been released, has been suspended with pay after failing to confirm all students had gotten off the bus.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)