CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Police say students on a University of Miami shuttle bus were on their way back to their school’s campus in Coral Gables Monday afternoon when their ride went terrifyingly wrong.
Cellphone video obtained by Local 10 News Wednesday captured the chaotic moments as the bus driver, who Miami-Dade Schools police identitified as 45-year-old Timothy Kowalewski, of Tamarac, clipped a tree just before 3:30 p.m. Monday near the 300 block of U.S. 1. while he was allegedly under the influence of alcohol.
“Are you lightheaded?” one student was heard asking Kowalewski.
“No, I’m fine,” Kowalewski said.
“You know that you crashed two times on this ride alone,” another student said. “Did you have anything to drink? You smell like a lot of alcohol.”
“No.” Kowalewski replied.
Students on the bus can be seen in the video quickly exiting as Kowalewski appeared glassy-eyed, slurring his words, and seemingly unaware of the crash.
“You’re threatening all of our lives right now,” another student was heard telling him.
According to police, Kowalewski refused a field sobriety test and declined a breathalyzer when officers arrived at the scene.
Kowalewski’s arrest report stated that officers observed him with red, watery eyes, slurred speech, and noted that he was “unsteady on his feet.”
One student said the situation could have been much worse.
“It’s honestly really scary,” said Joseph Theisen, a UM senior. “There’s a lot of things that could’ve been going down. He could’ve hit a person, he could’ve hit a gas station … but yeah, it’s really scary.”
Jail records show he was arrested on a DUI charge, two counts of DUI causing property damage, and refusal to submit to a breath test while driving with a suspended license.
Kowalewski did not appear as an inmate on the Miami-Dade Corrections’ website after posting a $3,500 bond Tuesday morning.
UM sent a statement to Local 10 Tuesday regarding the incident:
“The incident involving a University of Miami campus shuttle is under further investigation by the Coral Gables Police Department. The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader University community remains our top priority.”
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