Senior center van driver arrested for DUI after passengers complain of wild ride

SNOHOMISH, Wash. -- A trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival took a dangerous turn for passengers in a senior center van.

Washington State Patrol troopers said they pulled the driver over near Interstate 5 and Highway 2 and arrested him for driving under the influence after passengers demanded he stop and let them out.

What started as a field trip ended quite differently for Patricia Bjerkan and 10 other passengers from the Snohomish Senior Center.

“We were heading to the Tulip fields up in Skagit County,” said Bjerkan. “When we left the senior center, there was a series of stuff that made us feel uncomfortable, the way the driver was driving and we didn’t think it was safe.”



As Bjerkan sat in the front seat of the shuttle, she grew concerned by the driver`s behavior. A Washington State Patrol trooper said that behavior included running stop signs, hitting the curb and driving on a roundabout. People inside the van reportedly asked the driver to stop.

“When we got to going on Everett on the Hewitt Avenue trestle, the people wanted him to pull over,” said Bjerkan.

A Washington State Patrol trooper reportedly spotted the driver slam on the brakes at 55 mph.

The State Patrol said the driver, 45-year old Gilbert Maier, admitted to taking prescription medication and investigators believe he was impaired as a result. Meier has been arrested for DUI and violation of using a controlled substance.

“All that we can say at this time is that we’re reviewing the situation, collecting the information and hope to have a quick resolution of the situation,” said Senior Center Board President Carroll Brown.

Brown wouldn’t comment about Maier's criminal history, but court documents from April 2014 out of King County shows he’s facing a pending DUI case. He’s accused of driving a car off the road and causing a collision.

It’s not the same driver Bonnie Nolan described.

“He was very nice, very pleasant,” said Nolan. “We never had any issues with him. He was good.”

Bjerkan doesn’t recall meeting Meier before, but says this incident won’t keep her from getting back on the bus again.

“We already planned another trip to the Tulip Festival as soon as we can go, and we will all go,” said Bjerkan.

The State Patrol said that Meier is a volunteer driver.

Brown said there is a process in place to check that background of drivers but she wouldn’t elaborate what that process entails.