The effect of driving drunk sat front and center in the Baker High School parking lot on Wednesday, May 29, as students saw the school bus that was hit by a drunken driver on March 22 near Redmond.

Katrina Nicole Dacus, 34, of Culver, is charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants in the crash that injured several BHS students attending the state FFA convention. Four were treated at a hospital.

Dacus, who is scheduled to enter a plea in Deschutes County Circuit Court on July 24, is also charged with eight counts of fourth-degree assault, 15 counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of reckless driving and one count of second-degree criminal mischief (for damage to the bus).

Bibiana Gifft, the FFA advisor who was driving the bus, said she met with district staff and parents of students who were on the bus to talk about bringing the vehicle to the high school.

Throughout the day, District Attorney Greg Baxter and Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby spoke to senior government classes about the dangers of driving while intoxicated, and Gifft also shared her story with the students before they walked outside to peer into the crushed bus.

“We’re thankful to the bus barn for turning it into an educational thing,” Gifft said.

Baxter and Duby told the seniors, who were just three days away from receiving their diplomas, that they will some day find themselves in a situation that involves drinking and driving, and that they have the power to avoid a tragedy.

“You’ll be able to make a good decision, or help others make a good decision,” Baxter said.

He shared a short video of a drunk driving accident in Texas that left two people dead and one woman with third degree burns over 60% of her body. The driver of the other car, who had been drinking, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

“Nobody wakes up and thinks ‘I’m going to get a DUII today.’ They don’t intend to do it,” Baxter said.

Then he presented a statistic: one person dies in a DUII-related crash on average every 52 minutes.

“It’s all about making good decisions and having a plan before you go,” Duby said.

Duby explained blood alcohol content, and said that although .08 is the legal limit, it’s not always a good indication of impairment.

“Impaired to a noticeable and perceptible degree,” he said.

According to court records, Dacus had a blood alcohol content of .15 or more at the time of the crash on March 22.

Both Baxter and Duby emphasized that any amount of alcohol is illegal for those under 21.

As a demonstration of impairment, they brought out goggles that simulated the effect of a .08 BAC. Emma Timm volunteered to wear them and take Duby’s test.

“What? There’s no way this is real,” Timm said, putting out her arms to catch her balance.

She tried to stand still with her feet in a heel-to-toe formation, then take nine steps forward, turn around, then take nine steps back — all while wobbling off balance.

“If you’re impaired, a half second slow, that’s the difference between life and death,” Baxter said.

At the end of each class, Gifft talked about her experience in the school bus — a story she’s recounted many times for law enforcement and insurance representatives.

“I’ve told it at least a hundred times, but talking to the seniors today has been really, really important,” she said.

She said anyone — other students or an athletic team — could have been on that bus, and she thinks about what could have happened in that crash.

“We’re really lucky we’re not going to students’ funerals this spring,” she said.

Gifft encouraged the students to take action against drunk driving.

“You make good choices, but you can’t control other people’s choices,” she said. “You can step up, you can speak up, you can take someone’s keys. Be smart and be safe. We want to celebrate your successes at graduation, not attend a celebration of life due to poor choices of others or yourself.”

In the aftermath of the March 22 incident in which a drunken driver crashed into a Baker School District bus carrying 14 students attending the state FFA convention, district officials learned that a state law prohibits public transportation providers, including school districts that operate buses, from including personal injury protection coverage for bus passengers in accidents that aren’t the district’s fault.

Betty Palmer, the district’s interim superintendent, said the provision in Oregon Revised Statute 742.520 appears not to be widely known.

That’s likely because passengers rarely are hurt while riding in school buses, Palmer said.

She said that although Katrina Nicole Dacus, the Culver woman who was driving the Subaru SUV that hit the school bus March 22, had insurance, it had a $50,000 limit, which didn’t cover all medical costs for injured students.

The district issued this statement regarding the issue:

“Baker School District 5J contracts with PACE, an insurance pool for Oregon education organizations provided through the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA), for property and liability risk coverage. Baker School District’s PACE coverage agreement does not include medical coverage for those injured while riding on a school bus when the district isn’t responsible for the accident. For example, when a district bus is hit by another driver who is at fault for the accident.

If a student is injured while riding on a school bus, we suggest the following:

• File a claim under the family’s auto insurance policy so coverage can be reviewed under the PIP (personal injury protection coverage). Usually, there is no deductible to this coverage.

• File a claim under the family’s personal medical insurance. The medical insurer will also need to review for coverage. There may be co-insurance or a deductible, as each family plan can be different.

Once all other coverage is exhausted, the PACE program can be notified to review for potential assistance under the special med-pay coverage.

If your family is in need of medical insurance, you may wish to consider contacting Northeast Oregon Network (NEON). NEON offers free assistance with the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and plans through the Marketplace and can be reached by calling 541-624-5101.”

“We’re really lucky we’re not going to students’ funerals this spring.”

— Bibiana Gifft, Baker High School FFA advisor who was driving a bus that was hit by a drunken driver in Redmond on March 22