Cops: Woman Fled Vehicle After Hitting School Bus, Crashing Car While Intoxicated

Mary Tedder (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A driver allegedly crossed a median, struck a school bus and crashed her vehicle in Boca Raton this week, before leaving the vehicle and telling officers she wanted to go to a church with a pool to get baptized.

The driver, Mary Tedder, 47, of Oakland Park, was arrested and charged with DUI and hit-and-run following the incident, which occurred on Clint Moore Road at 7:33 a.m. Wednesday after witnesses called police and led the her to responding officers.

According to a police report, the witnesses saw a black Kia Sportage veer off the roadway, strike a sign and several bushes and cross multiple lanes. Prior to the crash, the vehicle allegedly struck the passenger-side rear of a Palm Beach County school bus, which was occupied by 15 children, police said. A Palm Beach County School Board officer was already on scene when city police arrived.

One witness told police he saw the SUV cross a painted roadway separator, travel in the wrong direction, hit a concrete median and leave the road, after which he and another woman chased Tedder after she exited the vehicle and walked away from the scene into a nearby parking lot. He later provided a sworn statement identifying her as the driver, the report states.

The report states that Tedder allegedly had bloodshot and watery eyes, and appeared unsteady on her feet, though no odor of alcohol was detected. She allegedly told officers she could not remember the crash or where she was going and that she had consumed six Adderall pills which were prescribed to her. At Delray Medical Center, when asked why she left the scene, Tedder is alleged to have told officers she was looking for a church so she could go to the pool and get baptized. She is then accused of refusing a blood draw, leading to an additional charge of refusing a chemical test.

Tedder’s bail was set at $1,500 combined for the three charges.