Wednesday, April 24, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Police said Donna Hinnen, 44, of Reno was involved in a minor accident in which her bus was rear-ended. Nobody was hurt.
Investigators smelled alcohol on her breath and a preliminary test put her blood alcohol level at 0.03. A second test put it just above 0.02.
That's a fraction of the 0.1 of alcohol at which most drivers are presumed to be under the influence, but school buses are considered commercial vehicles and commercial drivers can't test above 0.04.
Hinnen was not cited since she was below both levels, but she was suspended because the Washoe County school district fires drivers who test above 0.02 in random tests they conduct annually.
Hinnen had just begun her Monday morning run and had only one pupil on the bus. The other driver was cited for failure to decrease speed.
The district tests half of its drivers each year for evidence of alcohol or drug use. Four have been fired in 1996 after showing positive for drugs. Hinnen was the first to face termination for alcohol use.
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