Lady arrested for downing Jell-O shots while driving bus

A woman accused of taking Jell-O shots of alcohol while transporting passengers at an Illinois River resort was arrested on a complaint of driving while impaired. Tammy Jones, 53, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, was arrested at about noon last Saturday in Cherokee County on a complaint of driving a motor vehicle while impaired.

Jones, who has since been fired by Eagle Bluff Resort in Tahlequah, posted $2,500 bail that day and was released from the Cherokee County Detention Center, authorities said. Jones consumed Jell-O shots supplied by passengers, said Ed Fite, administrator for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, which oversees the waterway.



“It’s absurd that someone who is retained to drive a bus that the general public has paid is consuming an alcoholic beverage,” Fite said. “It’s beyond me. I’ve seen a lot in working 32 years on the Illinois River. But I’ve never run up against this particular type of incident where one of the people we rely on to make sure the public is safe failed to keep their responsibility.” Jones’ breath alcohol level was measured at 0.07 percent, said Capt. Bill James of the Rogers Division of the OSRC.

A person can be arrested on a complaint of driving under the influence of alcohol with a reading of at least 0.08 percent. The threshold for a DWI complaint is 0.06-0.07 percent, according to Oklahoma statutes. After disembarking, a passenger told a ranger about Jones’ consumption of alcohol, James said. It is unclear how many passengers were on the bus, but the average number before noon is 15-20, he said. Jones was a temporary employee who had begun driving the bus on July 18, Fite said.