Guadalupe Morales, 47, and her mother, Matilde Morales Juarez, 68, are accused of stalling a New Boston, Texas, Independent School District bus by boarding and refusing to get off during a shouting match with the driver and a rider March 18, according to a probable cause affidavit. Small children on the bus were reportedly seen crying in a bus-cam video viewed the day after the confrontation by New Boston police.
One of Morales’ middle school daughters allegedly began fighting with a middle school male after the 74-year-old bus driver made an unscheduled stop because of loud and disruptive behavior by his passengers. After the driver told the kids to settle down if they wanted to get home, one of Morales’ daughters and a similarly aged boy began to fight. The other Morales daughter reportedly joined the fray which lasted until the driver broke up the conflict.
When he pulled up in front of the girls’ home in the 400 block of Bowie in New Boston, the driver was confronted by Morales and Juarez. The women complained about the fight to the driver, who told them they could file a complaint at the school the next day. Juarez allegedly stepped onto the bus and refused to get off. The women reportedly yelled at the driver and Juarez and a student allegedly got into a shouting match.
Several smaller children could allegedly be heard crying on the video, disturbed by the yelling. Juarez would not get off the bus and she and Morales forcibly prevented the doors from closing on the bus when the driver attempted to shut them. The bus could not leave until New Boston police arrived and ordered the women away.
Both have been charged with unlawful restraint, a felony punishable by six months to two years in a state jail. Juarez and Morales each posted bond on $4,000 in bail. They are scheduled to appear before a Bowie County judge Aug. 3.
