State Knew Bus Driver Had Drunk-Driving Record

State officials knew more than a month ago that a school bus driver charged last week with drunk driving while trying to pick up a load of students in Encino had applied for his driver’s license using an alias and had an extensive criminal record.

But state Department of Justice policies--designed to protect the rights of those accused of crimes--kept that agency’s officials from passing the information on to the California Highway Patrol or the Department of Motor Vehicles, which had issued Harold Keith Lone a temporary school bus driver’s certificate, Assemblyman Richard Katz said.

As a result, Lone, who had been convicted of drunk driving five times, was allowed to continue driving a bus.