A University of Miami shuttle bus driver was arrested on DUI charges while on the job, with more than a dozen students on board.
The arrest happened Monday afternoon, just off campus along U.S. 1, after students say the driver began swerving and struck a palm tree.
Video shared by a student shows the moments after passengers asked the driver to pull over and called the police. In the video, students can be heard questioning the driver about whether he had been drinking.
“Did you have anything to drink?” one student asked. “You just smell like a lot of alcohol.”
The conversation lasted several minutes while others on the shuttle contacted authorities.
Maya Dejean, a freshman studying marine biology, said the driver appeared disoriented and unaware of what was happening.
“He didn’t really realize he was crashing into things,” Dejean said. “He wasn’t really remembering things, didn’t have a recollection of what he was doing.”
Dejean said she takes the same shuttle route to and from classes in Virginia Key each week and became increasingly concerned as the ride continued. She said she and other students noticed slurred speech and smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath.
“We could hear his slurred speech,” she said. “You could smell the alcohol coming off of his breath, and it was just very bad.”
The driver, identified as 45‑year‑old Timothy Kowalewski, is facing charges of driving under the influence, damage to property, and refusal to test, according to police.
CBS News Miami exclusively spoke with a student who says this incident made her hesitant to take the shuttle for classes
Dejean said the incident has left her hesitant to return to the shuttle for classes next week.
“Traumatized is a big word, but I would say that I am a little traumatized just from not having that trust with someone else driving me at this point,” she said.
In a statement, the University of Miami said, “The incident involving a University of Miami campus shuttle is under further investigation by the Coral Gables Police Department. The safety of our students, faculty and staff members, and the greater University community remains our top priority.”
Students who were on the shuttle say they do not believe the university has done enough to address the issue.
“I am very grateful for opportunities like this to be able to speak out about it,” Dejean said. “As the student body that was on the bus, we are trying to bring as much awareness to the problem as we can.”
Police said Kowalewski refused a field sobriety test and a breath test at the police station following his arrest.
