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Austintown teacher faces endangering, OVI charges
AUSTINTOWN
An Austintown Middle School faculty member could be placed on administrative leave after reportedly being caught driving heavily intoxicated while her 2- and 4-year-old children were left at home.
Amanda L. Laird, 36, of Baker Street, pleaded not guilty Monday to misdemeanor counts of endangering children and operating a vehicle while intoxicated as well as other related traffic offenses, according to court records.
A township police report states Laird had a blood alcohol level of 0.23, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, when arrested by officers just after 11 p.m. March 27.
Township police received a report Laird was at the Mahoning Avenue Giant Eagle that night “dropping beer and stumbling through the parking lot,” the report states.
An officer followed Laird along Mahoning Avenue, watching as her vehicle stayed stationary at a green light, then crawled at between 5 and 10 mph before turning onto North Kimberly Avenue, where the vehicle went into the oncoming lane.
The officer initiated a traffic stop just before Laird turned into the driveway of her Baker Street address. The officer reported Laird grabbed a plastic bag from the vehicle and “began to run/jog/stagger” toward the rear of the residence, where she tripped over a step and fell into some outdoor furniture. She ignored the officer’s commands to stop, the report states.
“I immediately detected the overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverages as Laird began to slur and mumble that she was home and everything was good,” the officer wrote. “Laird acknowledged that she was driving but stated, ‘Now I’m here so it’s good, so yeah.’”
Though she claimed she “was not drunk and could pass the Standard Field Sobriety Tests” she failed, according to the report.
Another apparently intoxicated woman later identified as Dana M. Voytko, 32, also of Baker Street, came out of the home and yelled at officers, claiming they needed a warrant to be at the property.
She also was arrested for obstructing Laird’s arrest, the report states. Officers found two pills in her pocket, later identified as Hydrocodone, for which she claimed to have a prescription – though the pills were not in a prescription bottle, the report states.
Officers found two children age 2 and 4 in the home. Officers contacted the children’s grandparents, who took custody of them.
The incident report also was forwarded to the county Children Services Board for investigation.
Laird was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond and is due back in court next month. Her license was placed on administrative suspension.
Voytko faces a felony count of drug abuse and a misdemeanor count of obstructing official business. She was released from the Mahoning County jail last week and is also set for a court hearing next month.
District spokeswoman Brittany Bueno said Laird joined Austintown Local Schools in 2013 and remains an intervention specialist at the middle school, working with sixth- through eighth-graders with extra behavioral health or disability needs.
Austintown Local Schools officials conferred Wednesday with attorneys and state education representatives to determine if she will be disqualified because of the alleged offense.
“As soon as we found out today, we took action,” Superintendent Vince Colcaluca said Wednesday. “We consulted with our lawyers regarding state law and the [Ohio Department of Education] regulations.”
If Laird is disqualified, she will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Bueno said.
But first, Laird has requested to be represented by the teachers union at a contractually entitled meeting with Colaluca set for today, Bueno said.
The district is expected to release a statement after that meeting today.