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Former Carroll County school bus driver Tammy Frock, who crashed a bus last year near Liberty High School in Eldersburg, was sentenced Monday by Judge Fred Hecker to 60 days in jail for driving while impaired, according to Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker.
Frock, 55, of Westminster, pleaded guilty Monday during a scheduling conference in Carroll County District Court, according to Shoemaker. She was sentenced to 10 days in the Carroll County Detention Center and 20 days of home detention, as well as 18 months of supervised probation. Thirty days of the sentence were suspended.
She is scheduled to report to the detention center at 9 a.m., Monday and also was ordered to serve 50 hours of community service.
Frock was driving a school bus without students on board on Route 32 in Eldersburg on Sept. 15, 2022, when she drove off the right side of the road and hit power poles north of Bartholow Road, according to Maryland State Police. She was arrested at the scene after state troopers said they observed possible signs of intoxication. She was released from custody that day, pending the results of a blood analysis, police said.
On March 24, Maryland State Police announced that blood test results led to charging Frock with driving while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, reckless driving in wanton and willful disregard for safety of persons and property, and other violations.
Carroll County Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Ted Eyler said that it was unclear what substance or substances Frock had in her system at the time of the crash, but alcohol was ruled out.
“We can’t be sure of the substance[s] she was on at the time, which is what made the case so hard,” Eyler said in an email. “We do know that she did not have alcohol in her system and she took the breath test at the barrack and the results were .00.”
According to blood test results from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division, the blood sample collected from Frock on Sept. 15, 2022, tested positive for “amphetamine, alprazolam.”
Alprazolam is an anti-anxiety medication often sold under the name Xanax.
“But these substances remain in the system for some time so we can’t know when she took them and if they are what impaired her that day,” Eyler said in an email.
A first conviction for driving while impaired by drugs, including prescription medications or a controlled dangerous substance, carries a maximum sentence of 60 days imprisonment in Maryland.
Eyler said that the judge told Frock that he believed she was remorseful “and you have punished yourself more than I probably ever can.”
Hecker also commended Frock for taking responsibility for the accident, Eyler said.
Eyler asked the judge to sentence Frock to time in the detention center and probation for driving under the influence. Frock’s attorney, George Psoras, requested only five days in the detention center.
After sentencing, Psoras did not respond to requests for comment.
Carroll County Breaking News
Carroll’s public school bus drivers are employees of independent bus contractors and are certified to drive by the school system based on Maryland Department of Transportation regulations. All certified drivers must complete background checks, including a physical with drug and alcohol screening. Drivers must also submit to random drug and alcohol testing by Carroll Occupational Health, said Carey Gaddis, a county schools communications officer.
At the time of the crash, Frock was employed as a driver with Johnson Bus Service, which contracts with Carroll County Public Schools. A representative with the bus service said in March that Frock was no longer certified to drive a school bus and no longer employed by the company.