Police: Streamwood bus driver over legal limit

A Streamwood high school teacher's assistant was arrested after driving four students to school while her blood alcohol level was over the legal threshold for a school bus driver, police said.

Katherine M. Kurpiel, 26, of the 100 block of South Arlene Avenue, Palatine, was charged with reckless conduct and endangering the life of a child after the Nov. 5 incident, according to Streamwood Police Department records.

Kurpiel, a teacher's assistant and bus driver at the Palatine Dist. 211 Academy-South, told police she had consumed about 10 beers the night before driving four students to school the next morning in a Dist. 211 van, according to police reports.

The school's police resource officer performed a Breathalyzer test on Kurpiel at 10:45 a.m., and the results showed a BAC of .048 percent. The legal limit for a school bus driver is .040 percent, police said.

The school's psychologist told police Kurpiel said she was hung over before school that morning and that he witnessed her walk out of a bathroom and say, “I just threw up again,” according to police records.

The psychologist said Kurpiel then lied down on the couch in his room, prompting him to contact school officials, who decided to administer the Breathalyzer test, according to police records.

A spokesman for District 211 provided a written statement regarding the incident:

“Whenever student safety is a concern, we immediately investigate. In this case, the investigation resulted in our contacting the Streamwood Police Department. Since this is a personnel issue, we cannot elaborate further. However, we can confirm that all students arrived to school safely and participated in the school day without interruption.”

A Rolling Meadows court date is set for Nov. 29.