A Long Island school bus driver fired for drinking on the job claims she didn’t know White Claw was alcohol.
News 12 Long Island reported that 60-year-old driver Amal Hanna was fired from a school in Smithtown after being caught drinking one of the iconic seltzers.
However, the former bus driver will not face any charges as police believe she didn’t know the beverage was alcoholic.
Hanna is currently undergoing chemotherapy, which makes it challenging to taste if drinks contain alcohol.
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She was distraught after being let go of her job of 15 years.
“I have been crying and crying, I don't even have any more tears. It was just a mistake, it was a mistake,” Hanna said.
The 60-year-old grabbed the fruit-flavored beverage that her housemate left in the fridge before she headed out to work last Wednesday.
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Once the White Claw was spotted in her cup holder, Hanna was immediately removed from the school bus.
She pointed out: “For people like me that don’t drink — how are they going to know this is alcohol?”
Hanna has since been fired by WE Transport Inc, the Long Island-based school bus company that employed her.
Now unemployed, Hanna fears she’ll be unable to pay her ongoing medical bills while receiving chemo.
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“I’m frightened I’m going to be on the street because of a mistake,” she said.
Hanna said she loved her job, adding it ‘makes my life happy when I see the kids going to school happy’.
Several parents told reporters that Hanna is incredibly ‘sweet’ and always on time when picking up the children.
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“She was so sweet and kind to them, I can't imagine she would ever do anything to harm them,” one parent News 12.
Police in Suffolk County believe Hanna’s story; however, a spokesperson for WE Transport Inc said it was ‘completely unacceptable’ and she was ‘immediately removed from service’.
According to the New York Post, Smithtown school district officials said Hanna ‘will no longer transport any Smithtown student'.
“Our students’ safety is of the utmost importance to the Smithtown Central School District and we will remain steadfast in our efforts to create a safe environment for all our students,” Smithtown Central School District Superintendent Mark Secaur told parents in an email.
Topics: News
Charisa Bossinakis