A Niagara Falls/Buffalo Grayline bus driver was found to be driving while intoxicated on Sunday, Nov. 1 around 6:23 p.m, according to University Police Department Chief Peter Carey. A call was sent to UPD by a student riding the shuttle bus in fear that the driver might be intoxicated.

At the time of the call, the bus had already left the Canisius College campus and was making its way to Cleveland Circle, the designated drop-off location at SUNY Buffalo State. The bus was then observed by a UPD officer coming back onto the campus.

“As the bus was pulling into Cleveland Circle the tire struck the curb,” Carey said.

After pulling into the circle and releasing the students, officers performed a field sobriety test upon detecting a smell of alcohol on the driver.

“Based upon the test and their observations, the driver was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated,” Carey continued.

The driver, Brian Ceroky, was brought back to the station where he agreed to take a Breathalyzer. The result was a .30 blood alcohol content level, which is almost four times the legal limit of .08.

He was arrested for DWI and possession and consumption of an alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle. The bus was held until it could be picked up by a new driver to continue the route.

The driver was released on appearance ticket, which is an order to appear in Criminal Court for an arraignment, and was not taken downtown for further investigation.

Quayshawn Olds, a Buffalo State sophomore, was waiting for the shuttle bus at the time that it was pulled over by UPD. Olds said that the shuttle bus was already running 10 minutes late before he even noticed that UPD was following it. According to Olds, the bus driver appeared to be extremely nervous and disoriented upon exiting the vehicle to perform the field sobriety test.

“He just couldn’t perform the test and was stumbling around,” Olds said. “They put handcuffs on him and placed him in the back of the police car. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing because Brian was always such a fun and interesting guy. He always had great conversations with students and gave useful advice. It’s too bad that something like this had to happen to him.”

Another Buffalo State sophomore, Reggie Arzu, was waiting for the bus along with the group of five other students at the time of the event.

“One girl got off the bus and told all of us not to get on because the driver was drunk,” Arzu recalled. “I didn’t even have the opportunity to get on the bus because the cops had already pulled him over.”

Arzu shared the unexpectedness of the situation with his fellow students.

“Brian had not been acting like himself for the past couple of weeks, but I never thought that this would happen,” Arzu said.

The case is currently going through the courts, and the driver will have to appear in Buffalo City Courts to answer the DWI charges.

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