Woman Charged After Bus Crash Appears In Court Today

An Alexander County woman will make a court appearence in Taylorsville today after being charged in connection with a bus crash on December 17th. Thirteen students were injured along with their driver after the bus overturned on Icard Ridge Road. 56 year old Kimberly Anne Austin was charged by the North Carolina Highway Patrol with driving left of center and driving while impaired. She later was charged by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office with two counts of child abuse. The charges involved the child in her vehicle at the time of the accident and another child she had dropped off at West Alexander Middle School. Icard was injured and taken to an area hospital but was treated and released.

A check of court records indicate that Austin is also facing a charge in Iredell County for felony obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery. The next court date on that charge is January 14th, 2019.