The Bus Driver's Candy Craving That Led To A Costly Mistake

When you get on any sort of transportation, you're placing a lot of faith in the driver. If you go into a taxi cab or a bus, you expect that the driver will deliver you to your destination safely and in one piece. While many bus drivers, we are sure, are very good, hard-working people, there have been times when passengers have been endangered by reckless behavior on part of their driver.

In 2015, ABC News reports, a bus driver in New Mexico seemed more focused on his lunch than on driving his bus. The driver even took both hands off the wheel to better enjoy his burrito, giving the bus enough time to collide with cars directly in front of it. In 2021, an accident involving a school bus was caused by drunk driving — the main culprit being the driver of the school bus herself, who had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10, well above the legal limit (via Newsweek). In both cases, the accidents were caused by food and liquor impairing the focus and judgment of the drivers.

But what would happen if a driver, through a completely innocent mistake, found himself charged with endangering his passengers? And all because of a sudden sweet tooth craving for some fruit snacks?

When Connecticut bus driver Jinhuan Chen boarded his bus on March 13, he was in no way inebriated or impaired. Yet only a few hours later, despite only having a bag of fruit-flavored gummies, Chen's bus was found pulled over on the side of the road, with Chen himself collapsed at the wheel.

The reason for Chen's sudden collapse, reports AP News, was that Chen had ingested a pack of fruit snacks infused with THC— the same chemical found in marijuana. Chen insists that he had no idea he had eaten cannabis gummies, believing he was eating only harmless candy. Surprisingly, the manager of the bus company, Victor Chen, seemed to support Chen's claims. It was noted that Chen had an "exemplary" driving record over the ten years he worked for the company and had never smoked or drank. His only vice, however, was a "sweet tooth."

The CT Post reports that, despite Chen's plea that he had unknowingly eaten the cannabis-infused snacks, he is to be held with a $25,000 bond and the case is to be continued on August 25.

While Chen's brush with cannabis gummies may have been an unfortunate mistake,  it goes without saying that CBD edibles should be used responsibly — provided they are legal in your state, of course.