Sunrise Beach man charged with 20 felony counts; accused of driving school bus drunk

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Sunrise Beach, Missouri, man has been charged with 20 felonies after allegedly driving a school bus while drunk.

Brett Emehiser, 44, faces 20 counts of felony child endangerment, according to court records. Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Richelle Grosvenor said in a news release that Emehiser was arrested after driving a school bus with at least 20 children under age 17 on Friday after drinking.

Grosvenor anticipates more charges, the release says.

The Camdenton School District posted on its Facebook page that the driver was caught thanks to citizens' actions and no children were hurt.

"Student safety is the district's first priority and will not tolerate the continued employment of individuals who jeopardize their safety," the message says.

The bus had pulled over by the time a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper got to the scene at about 4:30 p.m., according to a probable cause statement.

Witnesses at the scene told the trooper that the bus had been swerving and had almost hit other vehicles, the statement says. Emehiser's speech was slurred, he stumbled as he left the bus and he smelled like alcohol, the statement says.

Emehiser failed a field sobriety test and had a blood alcohol content of 0.18, well above the legal limit of 0.08, the statement says.

Emehiser remained jailed Monday in Camden County without bond.