Hoover school bus driver arrested on suspicion of DUI after wrecking bus

Alabama State Troopers this evening arrested a Hoover school bus driver on suspicion of drunk driving after the driver wrecked his school bus just off Interstate 459, a Hoover school official said.

The bus went down an embankment as it was exiting Interstate 459 North on the ramp leading to Acton Road just before 5 p.m., Hoover City Schools spokesman Jason Gaston said. No students were on board at the time of the crash, Gaston said.

“The driver was completing his afternoon route and was returning the bus to its overnight location when he left the road,” Gaston wrote in an email.

The Alabama State Troopers took Mark Pierce to the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, and he was charged with DUI, according to a jail official. Pierce's blood alcohol level was .15, which is four times the legal limit for someone operating a school bus, according to Alabama State Troopers.

Pierce was released from the Jefferson County Jail Thursday morning on a $1,000 bond, jail records show.

Hoover school officials are in communication with Alabama State Troopers and will be conducting their own investigation, Gaston said. More information will be released later, he said.

This post was updated at 8:44 p.m. with the name of the driver and at 8:31 a.m. Thursday with more information from Alabama State Troopers and Pierce's release from jail.