School bus driver was looking up 'yo mama' jokes on her phone
A school bus driver's erratic behavior behind the wheel was because she was looking up "yo mama' jokes on her phone.
Brenda Carsten, 39, of Blaine has been charged with a string of child endangerment, reckless driving and traffic offenses over the incident on Feb. 6.
The Lorenz Bus Service driver was arrested after a parent complained about her child's journey home that day from Westwood Middle School.
Students were seen in on-board camera footage sliding across their seats and swaying as the bus weaved across centerlines, failed to stop at stop signs, and engaged in aggressive turns.
At the wheel was Carsten, who was seen driving with one and sometimes no hands as she focused on her cellphone, only glancing up from time-to-time for "brief moments of looking at the road."
She then started telling students about her personal life – while texting with both hands and using foul language – and then let students use the bus' public announcement system to read her texts aloud to the bus.
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When students started telling "yo mama" jokes, Carsten started looking them up on her phone and relaying them to students.
While telling one of the jokes, Carsten turned into oncoming lanes of traffic – though fortunately only one car was heading towards the bus and was far enough away to avoid collision.
At other times during the journey, Carsten opened the doors while the bus was moving, and drifted into the shoulder and bike lanes.
Oh, and she wasn't wearing a seatbelt throughout most of the ride.
When the students were interviewed by police, they said it wasn't the first time she'd acted like this at the wheel, and that initially they were shocked, they were "no longer appalled" by her actions.
She has since lost her job with the school district, and will appear in court on June 6 to answer 15 charges.
