BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Mount Mercy Academy teacher accused of driving drunk during an after-school club activity has been fired and is facing several charges.
Officials tell 7 News that Natalie Alvut, who is listed as a science teacher in the faculty section on the Mount Mercy website, faces several charges including:
- DWI first offense
- Aggravated DWI
- Aggravated DWI operating a school bus
- Endangering the welfare of a child under 17
Alvut was scheduled to be in court Monday night but it is still being determined which jurisdiction will be handling the case.
7 News first learned about the incident after a Mount Mercy parent reached out about the allegations. They said the school's ski club was at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville on Thursday evening and instead of taking Route 219 home, Alvut headed toward Franklinville and they ended up at the Ischua Valley Country Club which is where police were called and Alvut was arrested.
To learn more about what happened, 7 News spoke with Wayne Potter, the chef at the country club. He said around 10 p.m. on Thursday a bus full of students arrived at the restaurant.
"They explained that they thought the bus driver was not acting right, she was just not right, so they tried to get her to stop somewhere," Potter said.
He said they were all nervous and scared, and said that she veered off a couple of times.
According to Potter, the bartender at the country club had the students all go inside and Alvut was agitated.
Another employee called the police and Potter said when they arrived, they interviewed Alvut, took her outside, and did a field sobriety test. Then one trooper came back in and handed another trooper the keys and took Alvut out.
Mount Mercy sent the following letter to families and its community on February 2:
"Dear Families and Mercy Community,
The purpose of this letter is to outline an incident which occurred yesterday evening during an after school club activity. We are deeply troubled to report that an employee was operating a school bus with students on board and was charged. The incident is still being investigated by the proper authorities. However, based on the information received thus far, the employee has been terminated.
The safety of our students is our first priority. Prior to this event, Mount Mercy had no indication or reason to believe that the individual would put any student in danger. We are sincerely grateful that all students were reported safe. In response to this occurrence, our crisis team will be available to support our students."
7 News reached out to the school for further comment but we have not heard back.
