BANGOR (AP) – A Bangor man with a suspended driver’s license faces charges of operating under the influence and driving to endanger after crashing his sport utility vehicle into a school bus, police said.

Iver Cardwell, 26, was charged after driving his SUV into the bus Monday afternoon while it was parked outside of John Bapst Memorial High School on Broadway.

Two bus monitors were knocked out of their seats, but the only person hurt was Cardwell, who was treated for cuts and scrapes at Eastern Maine Medical Center, police said. No students were on the bus because school had not yet been dismissed.

Shortly before the accident, police started receiving reports of an erratic vehicle heading toward Broadway. Cardwell hit two other vehicles shortly before crashing into the bus, police said.

Jason Colman, 22, a football and basketball assistant coach, said he was crossing the street when he saw the Chevrolet Tahoe come toward him at 40 to 50 mph. The driver yanked the wheel to avoid hitting him, Colman said, before crashing into the bus.

“He was out of his mind,” Colman said.

The vehicle’s air bag deployed, but that didn’t keep the driver from attempting to drive away.

The driver backed into a parked pickup truck before bystanders pulled him from the vehicle as he attempted to unwedge the SUV from between the bus and the truck, said Pat Horne of Holden, who was at the school to pick up his daughter.

Cardwell could barely stand and had no idea where he was, Horne said. Several angry people, who apparently had been run off the road, also were at the scene yelling at him.

Cardwell was also charged with violation of conditions of release from a previous conviction, operating after suspension, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident. He was being held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail.

The results of Cardwell’s blood alcohol test probably won’t be known for a few months, police said.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-11-27-07 0914EST

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