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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Bus driver guilty of drinking at wheel

Advertiser Staff

City bus driver Searle Pestana yesterday pleaded guilty to operating a bus while under the influence of alcohol.

District Judge Fa'auuga To'oto'o sentenced Pestana, 61, to 14 days in jail for having an open container of alcohol while driving a bus on Kalaniana'ole Highway in Windward O'ahu.

His driver's license was suspended for six months following the Aug. 28 arrest.

Pestana was previously convicted of drunken driving in 2000 and 2002, according to court records. Neither of those offenses occurred when Pestana was working, prosecutors said.

To'oto'o also fined Pestana $700.

Pestana was arrested the evening of Aug. 28 after passengers on his bus called 911 and alerted police to his erratic driving.

O'ahu Transit Services officials suspended him without pay and said after the arrest they were beginning a full investigation of the matter.

"This is something we're deeply embarrassed about," said Roger Morton, president and general manager of O'ahu Transit Services.