Principal Of The Year Busted For DUI Twice In Same Night


A Georgia high school principal was involved in two DUI crashes in the same night according to police.

The suspect, identified in multiple media reports as Nathan Buhl, 37, stepped down on Wednesday as the principal of Milton High School in Milton, Ga., a job he started only a couple of months ago.

In 2013, Buhl was named principal of the year at Crabapple Middle School in Roswell, Ga., by the North Forsyth County PTA.

Buhl allegedly hit a parked car on Saturday night shortly before 10 pm in Forsyth County, Ga., and then left the scene, although a witness took down his license plate number. Cops ran his plate and determined he lived in nearby Cherokee County. “When Forsyth deputies called the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, a Cherokee investigator confirmed that agency was working a separate wreck involving the same car and individual, identified as Buhl Forsyth deputies were sent to a nearby hospital, where Buhl was being treated for injuries sustained in the Cherokee crash,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Reportedly in the second crash, the suspect’s car ran off the road and wound up stucked between two trees. Firefighters had to slice through the windshield to pull him out.

As a result of his Saturday night escapade, investigators determined that the principal was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time. Following his discharge from the hospital the following morning, Forsyth deputies arrested the suspect for DUI and hit-and-run related charges. He bonded out and then later surrendered at the Cherokee County jail where he was charged with DUI, reckless driving, and several other offenses. He bonded out on those charges on Tuesday morning.

As recounted by the CBS News Atlanta affiliate, “According to the report, the responding deputy noted a smell of alcohol coming from Buhl’s breath, as well as his eyes being glassy and bloodshot and his speech slurred. Buhl admitted to the deputy that he had been drinking before getting behind the wheel, but did not know how many drinks he had. He also told the deputy he did not recall either of the accidents he was believed to be involved in. Deputies gave Buhl a breathalyzer test and he blew a 0.193.”

In Georgia, as in most other states, the BAC legal limit is.08.

In an email to Milton high school staff on Wednesday, Buhl wrote in part that “Today I am humbled and ashamed, after making the worst decisions of my life Saturday night. A night of celebration quickly turned to nightmare because of the series of poor choices that I made. After eventually crashing my vehicle, the police picked me up and quickly put the pieces together. On Saturday, July 26th, I was charged with several citations and will eventually have my day in court. became an educator because I love children and young people, and I believe they deserve the very best we can give them. I did not give the students of Milton High School my very best. As such, I cannot continue to serve as their principal. Teenagers wrestle with the same kind of choices I faced Saturday night on a regular basis. How can I stand before them and tell them to do what I say, not what I did? How can I stand before their teachers, support staff and parents?”

An interim principal appointed by the school district will take over on a temporary basis pending a nationwide search for a new candidate. School in Forsyth County starts on August 7 although it ends on May 22.

[image credit: Shutterstock]

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