Update: School Bus Driver Charged With DWI

Update 11 a.m.: School bus driver Michael Asseng has been admitted to Nassau University Medical Center and will likely be arraigned bedside Saturday, Nassau Police said. 

A man driving a mini school bus with children aboard was arrested and charged with aggravated DWI Friday after striking a parked vehicle in Farmingdale, Nassau County Police said. 

Officers at the scene arrested Michael Asseng, 47, of Deer Park, after determining he was impaired by drugs. He was later transported to an area hospital for evaluation after having difficulty breathing.

The incident happened at about 11:55 a.m. along Midwood Ave. Asseng struck a parked vehicle while driving a 2001 GMC Omnibus for the ACME Bus Corporation, according to police.

Four children, aged 6, 8, 8 and 12, were aboard the bus on the way home from school. None were injured. Police would not say where the children were being transported from. 

Asseng has been charged with four counts of aggravated DWI under Leandra’s Law and driving while ability impaired, drugs. 

Police said he will be arraigned as soon as practical.

There have been other bus-related incidents this school year. Another school bus driver faced Leandra’s Law charges in October 2012 after plowing into a Syosset home. Also in October, a bus driver was arrested on charges of driving while ability impaired after backing into a tree during a field trip in Cold Spring Harbor. 

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