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Another Pickens County School bus driver accused of DUI, parents are furious

By Tyler Fingert
Published  August 22, 2022 11:55pm EDT
Pickens County
FOX 5 Atlanta

2 school bus drivers arrested for DUI, officials say

Pickens County Schools has had two of its school bus drivers arrested for DUI since the start of classes.

PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. - For the second time in just days, a Pickens County school bus driver has been busted for driving drunk.

Police say 43-year-old Tammy Decerbo was arrested Monday morning shortly after finishing her morning bus route.

Her arrest comes less than 72 hours after one of her fellow drivers was also booked into jail for the same thing.

This news has parents furious.

"Beyond mad," said Katie Lewis.

Lewis’ 1st-grade son Tucker was on a school bus Friday heading home when it crashed into a ditch on Fortner Road. The driver, 59-year-old Jeffrey Tucker, would later be arrested for driving drunk, but before he could be cuffed Georgia State Patrol says the school system gave him another bus to finish the route.

"There should have been another driver that took over, it should have been somebody else that brought our kids home, not the same driver that was drunk," Lewis said.

Pickens County Schools say no students were hurt when the bus hit the ditch, but parents say that is not true.

One mother said her son has a minor concussion. Another sent us this picture that shows her son with a bruise on his face.

"We send our kids to school and we expected them to be safe and to be secure and they're not," Lewis said. "The school system for this part, the transportation part is failing our kids."

If that was not enough, just days later another bus driver was busted for driving under the influence. On Monday, investigators say Decerbo was caught driving drunk just about an hour after finishing her morning route.

"Shocking that you just watched one of your coworkers get busted for DUI and you're still going to do the same thing?" Lewis said.

Both Decerbo and Tucker are facing a DUI charge, but Tucker is facing a long list of other charges. Besides questioning who is being hired, Lewis would like to see some changes.

"I wish that maybe we could start putting the breathalyzers in the buses so that this doesn't happen in the future," she said.

Pickens County Schools will not comment and will not say if the two drivers are still employed.

Both Decerbo and Tucker bonded out Monday night.