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SAINT JOHN A Sussex man, who pleaded guilty to driving a charter bus full of high school students down a highway with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, to be served on weekends.

Gregory Alan Stephens was in a position of trust and put lives in jeopardy, said provincial court Judge Anne Jeffries.

"There are not enough words to say how sorry I am," Stephens said April 28 before being sentenced.

"I'm dealing with it on a spiritual basis with my wife, trying to forgive myself," he said, as his wife looked on.

Stephens, 53, of Cedar Avenue, was also prohibited from driving for two years and placed on probation for two years.

Normally, Stephens would receive a fine for a first offence, but Crown prosecutor Chris Titus had asked the judge to consider a custodial sentence, given the circumstances.

On Nov. 21, at about 10:45 p.m., Stephens, who was drunk on vodka and mouthwash, careened down Route 1, swerving between lanes. The part-time bus driver was taking 22 Hampton High School basketball players and four coaches back home from an evening game in Oromocto.

Some of the passengers were in fear for their lives, the court heard. Several of them filed victim impact statements.

Titus stressed the "impact the driver of a bus can have on the lives of those that are basically under his care."

He pointed to the recent tragedy in Bathurst, which claimed the lives of seven high school basketball players and a teacher riding in an extended van that was involved in a crash with a tractor-trailer, to emphasize the point.

"This isn't your usual first offence," agreed defence lawyer Andrew Palmer. "But much of what's being said is what could have happened."

Although Stephens' actions were "absolutely inexcusable," no one was injured, he stressed, as Stephens, a father of two, sat with his eyes downcast.

"His actions on that night are not a true reflection of who he is," said Palmer.

Stephens, who works full time at the Sussex potash mine, is "a good person who made a terrible mistake," he said.

Stephens was also ordered to keep the peace, abstain from alcohol, continue attending Alcoholics Anonymous, and pay $1,428.94 in restitution to his former employer, Optimum Ride Charter Service, for costs associated with damage control following the incident.

At least four sets of charters were cancelled as a direct result, Optimum Ride operations manager Kim Keith told reporters. The company had actually filed for restitution of more than $11,000 in lost revenue and other costs, which will likely be handled in civil court.

Keith, who had urged the judge to demonstrate in sentencing that bus drivers "have a higher standard of responsibility," was pleased with the jail sentence although she wished it was longer and not intermittent.

She described Stephens' actions as "abhorrent" in a victim impact statement, which she read aloud in court.

"I just can't be too emphatic in how much this fact sickens me that he would choose to endanger a busload of children is beyond contemptible," she said.

A quick-thinking coach asked Stephens to pull over, saying one of the passengers was sick. Then he called 911. Police found two pints of vodka in the bus one empty, the other full. Stephens had Breathalyzer readings of 190 and 180 milligrams of 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 mg.