Hoover superintendent: Won't tolerate irresponsible conduct of school bus driver charged with DUI

The irresponsible conduct of the Hoover school bus driver who wrecked his bus and was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol Wednesday will not be tolerated, Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said in a statement issued this evening.

The Hoover school board has scheduled a special meeting for 2:30 p.m. Friday to address a personnel matter.

“We hope to move swiftly on a resolution regarding the bus crash from Wednesday,” Hoover schools spokesman Jason Gaston said in an email. “We have many details we continue to analyze as we piece together our internal investigation.”

The school bus driver had completed his afternoon route and was returning the bus to its overnight location when the bus left the road as it exited Interstate 459 North at Acton Road just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Gaston said. The bus went down an embankment and to the woods.

“Thank God no children were on the bus at the time of the crash,” Murphy said in her statement. “Among the many roles of a school district, the most important is the safety and well-being of children. The Hoover City School District accepts and embraces that the safety of our children is priority one, and we will accept nothing less from our employees. A serious breach of good judgment occurred on yesterday by one of our bus drivers. His failure to act responsibly could have resulted in serious injury and loss of life.”

The driver, Mark Pierce, was charged with DUI and booked into the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham. He was released this morning on a $1,000 bond, jail records show.

Pierce has been employed with Hoover City Schools since September but did not come to work today, Gaston said.

School officials have not said yet how many children Pierce transported Wednesday afternoon or whether he had consumed alcohol before that time.