Charlotte school bus driver was impaired, 'driving erratically,' police say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while impaired, according to a police report. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested the driver on Lightspun Lane in northwest Charlotte. According to the police report, 21 students on the bus were put in a “substantial risk of harm” by the driver and two of them were injured. CMPD identified the driver as 70-year-old Sylvia Ann Dollard. She was charged with DWI. 

Ten misdemeanor child abuse charges were later added over the weekend. 

CMS confirmed that Dollard is suspended with pay effective Aug. 30. She was first hired in 2014. 

WCNC Charlotte spoke with witnesses who said parents intervened and stopped Dollard from driving after noticing she was driving erratically in their neighborhood and missing school bus stops. 

“[My children] said she kept hitting breaks, running past stop signs, circled several times before,” parent Riley Lea explained.

Cell phone video obtained by WCNC Charlotte shows an SUV stopped in front of the school bus and children on the street. 

“[Parents] were real pissed,” said a neighbor and witness named Quan. “[They were] cussing, beating on the window, they busted the door window on the side trying to get on.”

Lea said parents boarded the bus and yelled at the driver after they got the children off safely. 

“I went from being rage to mommy mode because I’m just trying to get all the kids to calm down,” Lea said. “It was scary!”

She first learned of the chaotic situation when her six- and seven-year-old sons came home after getting off the bus.

“My kids came in screaming at the top of their lungs, crying, one was bleeding from the nose and the mouth,” Lea recalled. When she realized the bus was still up the street, she ran toward the crowd of people. 

The mother said she later took her boys to the hospital to get checked out. They were okay and went to school the next day.

 “They’re fine thankfully. I guess it was just bumps and bruises,” Lea added.

Superintendent Crystal Hill said Friday, “The school principal was on site, we contacted parents immediately. All the children were safe and they were either picked up by their parents on-site or transported by another school bus.”

The students were from Oakdale Elementary School. Administrators sent the following message to parents about the situation: 

“Good evening, Oakdale Elementary, this is Principal Dr. Sharrone Powell reaching out to inform you about an incident that occurred this afternoon with bus 1680.  We received a report that the driver of the bus was driving erratically in a neighborhood. Transportation services were alerted, and police arrived on scene along with transportation managers and school leadership. Some students on board the bus were taken safely home on another bus. Some parents who arrived at the scene took their children home in their own vehicles.

Your child may have been impacted by this incident. They may feel a variety of emotions: they may be scared, shocked, or confused. What is most important is that we care for and support them. The Crisis Response Team is available to respond to the emotional needs.

We take this matter seriously as the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. Thank you for your continued support of Oakdale Elementary.”

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Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram. 

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