Bus collides with sign; Driver facing DUI charge

An Olivehurst bus driver was high on pills Tuesday when she crashed a PRIDE Industries bus into a tree and street sign while transporting one person, the California Highway Patrol said.

Ellen Kay Enright is facing a DUI charge and was hospitalized with "undetermined injuries," said Officer Jodie Beck, of the Yuba-Sutter California Highway Patrol.

Hospital officials said Enright was treated and released. Enright was not listed as an inmate at the Yuba County Jail on Tuesday night.

A wheelchair-bound bus passenger, Lindsey N. Williams, 24, of Wheatland, was not hurt, the CHP said.

Initial police reports that a teenager had been involved in the crash proved unfounded.

Officials with PRIDE Industries said Tuesday's incident was the first passenger-involved crash in Yuba-Sutter, where they have operated for more than eight years.

"We're initiating our own thorough investigation before making any decisions," said Audrey Farnington, vice president of marketing and communications.

Citing employee confidentiality laws, Farnington would only confirm Enright is employed as a bus driver through the company.

The CHP said the bus was traveling north on Highway 65 to Highway 70 around 7:45 a.m. when Enright allowed the bus to begin weaving between traffic lanes "due to her altered level of consciousness."

The bus left the roadway, struck a road sign and glanced off a tree before coming to a stop, the CHP said.

CONTACT Rob Parsons at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4785. Find him on Facebook at /ADcrimebeat or on Twitter at @ADcrimebeat.