Former bus driver faces charges

HOT SPRINGS — A former Fountain Lake Elementary School bus driver was arrested on child endangerment charges Wednesday, accused of drinking while driving a bus with 16 students on board Jan. 12.

Anita Jean Cox of Hot Springs Village faces charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor that’s punishable by up to one year in jail, authorities said.

Cox, 57, was released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear March 19 in Garland County District Court.

Steve Freeman, Fountain Lake Elementary School’s assistant principal, witnessed the incident, according to a probable cause affidavit, and said the bus driver for an after-school program “almost had a wreck and seemed to be impaired while driving.”

Freeman said the driver, identified as Cox, was transporting 16 students to Fountain Lake Elementary from the Cordova Center in Hot Springs Village and almost had a head-on collision.

Freeman yelled Cox’s name, and she “jerked the bus back across the centerline,” the affidavit said.

Cox was seen on the bus security camera drinking out of a glass Mason jar that contained a clear liquid, according to the affidavit.

The contents of the jar were tested Feb. 6 and were found to contain 42 percent ethanol alcohol, the affidavit said.

Superintendent Michael Murphy said Thursday that Cox was placed on paid leave after the incident. She submitted a letter of resignation that was accepted by the Fountain Lake School Board on Jan. 19.