BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – An accident Sunday night involving two all terrain vehicles left one person in the hospital and another in jail.

Dennis Koch, of Winnabow, was driving an ATV when he rear ended another ATV on Sycamore Road in Boiling Spring Lakes, according to police reports.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found one ATV rolled over and EMS already working on a patient in the road. Koch was seen staggering in the road picking up beer cans, the report said. He told officers at the scene that he was a passenger on the ATV and was not driving.

Koch refused medical treatment and stopped answering any other questions from law enforcement. Police continued their investigation at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where the driver of the second ATV told them that Koch was the driver and that he had seen Koch drinking all day.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – When the new school year starts, 38 former full-time bus drivers will either be part-time bus drivers or will work in other positions. According to district spokesperson Jessica Swencki, 17 drivers will change to part-time status and the district was able to find different jobs in the district for the other drivers.

Swencki said this is the first time the district has ever had to use a reduction in force.

After many parents and students spoke out against the district’s staggered bell schedule, the board voted to return to the schedule where all the schools begin around the same time. Swencki said because most drivers will only drive one route per day with the regular schedule, drivers will not get as many hours as they could when different schools started at different times.

Swencki said the district is also in the process of hiring more part-time bus drivers because more drivers will be needed with the return to the former bell schedule. She said the district had its largest training class ever last month. She said 35 people applied to train to be bus drivers and 20 people met the qualifications. Those 20 applicants still need to pass a road test.

She said the district plans to have another driver training class sometime next month for other interested bus drivers.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – The Brunswick County School system needs bus drivers.

BCS is offering free training, license fees reimbursement, competitive wages and flexible hours, according to spokesperson Jessica Swencki.

There is a need for more bus drivers because the school district will not use the staggered school schedule in the fall.

The switch back from the system where different grade levels begin school at different times could cost upwards of a million dollars, Swencki said. That’s because the district will have to put busses that have been offline for the past year back to use. The district will also have to purchase about five new busses, costing close to $500,000.

"It is a challenge getting the busses ready and our biggest challenge would be drivers of course,” said transportation director Bobby Taylor. “They have to take the tests, pass the background [checks] and have a lot of work to do.”

Applicants will go through three days of classroom training and pass a test. They will then go through three days of driving before seeing if they are qualified to drive a bus.

The next driver training class will begin on Monday, May 14. For more information, call Veronica Simmons at 910-253-1087 or click here.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.