IONIA, Mich. (WOOD) — A bus driver who pleaded no contest to several criminal charges related to a crash that hospitalized four high school students heading to a college visit has been sentenced to almost two years behind bars.
Angela Fitzgerald, 45, will serve 21 months to five years in prison after agreeing to plead no contest to three counts of operating under the influence causing incapacitating injury and three counts of child endangerment operating under the influence back in December, court records show.
Bus driver who injured students in I-96 crash takes plea deal
In March 2025, Fitzgerald crashed a school bus of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre High School and four adults while under the influence of THC, leading to several serious injuries, including a concussion and a foot amputation.
The bus kept straight and did not turn with the curve, before veering near the rumble strips on the right side of the highway while driving down I-96 near mile marker 76 in Portland Township, court documents said. Soon after, the bus made a sharp left turn and hit the guardrail on the passenger side of the bus. The bus kept traveling alongside the guardrail before stopping.
Court documents said that the dashcam inside the bus showed Fitzgerald’s eyes close for a period before hitting the rumble strips…