Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Allegedly Tells Kids To ‘Go F**k’ Themselves, Abandons Bus At Gas Station
A group of Pennsylvania school kids got more than they bargained for in their bus ride home last week, as their driver, Lori Ann Mankos, allegedly drove drunk, told the kids to “go f**k” themselves, and abandoned the bus full of kids at a gas station, Global News is reporting.
Authorities say that Mankos was driving junior high and high school kids home last week when some of the 26 passengers on board began to notice that not only did she appear “agitated,” but that she wasn’t taking her usual route and her driving was a bit rough, too. Student Mason Persiani said that he and his peers realized something was amiss when Mankos took a turn too fast.
“The major thing on the ride that threw everybody off was when there was a right-hand turn and when she took it, she was going far too fast. She ended up being halfway into the opposing lane of traffic.”
Students began pulling out their cell phones and taking video. In some of the video footage that has been posted to the internet, one girl tries to take control of the situation, demanding that Mankos pull the bus over to the side of the road so the kids could get out.
“Call the school, this is not even funny. Pull over!”
Persiani says that Mankos gave the passengers the one-finger salute and told them to “go f**k” themselves.
Then, a defiant Mankos asked the kids if they wanted her to pull over and call their parents, to which they answered, almost in unison, “Yes!”
Lori Ann Mankos, a Pennsylvania school bus driver, said she felt like she wanted to "kill kids," so she walked off her bus, gave the keys to a gas station employee and left. Police say Mankos was drunk and she now faces 26 child endangerment charges: https://t.co/kLoEsR0WcO pic.twitter.com/Za9YXTdsBm
— Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) March 6, 2019
Mankos did eventually pull over at a gas station. There, she allegedly gave the keys to a confused employee, and simply walked away, abandoning 26 teenagers.
When police showed up at her home to arrest her, according to The Lehigh Valley News, Mankos allegedly told them that she was infuriated by the kids’ behavior and wanted to kill them, and ditched them and the bus before she did something worse. She refused to submit to a breathalyzer test, but the police report noted that she “appeared” intoxicated. Similarly, one of the teens on board the bus told a police officer that Mankos smelled of alcohol.
She has since been charged with 26 counts of endangering the welfare of children, in addition to single counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving, and reckless driving. She is currently being held at Northampton County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.
