GERMANTOWN NEWS

'What do you mean I hit someone?': Four times over the alcohol limit, Wisconsin driving instructor injured the principal during lesson

Alec Johnson
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Germantown driver's education instructor was arrested for driving drunk while giving a driving lesson Jan. 6.

During the lesson, instructor Corey J. Malone backed into a swinging metal gate, which then struck high school principal Joel Farren, according to Germantown police. 

Police found Malone in the office of Just Drive driver's education office in Germantown, where he was arrested.

Malone was cited for OWI and driving with a prohibited alcohol content, according to the police report. A preliminary breath test indicated his blood alcohol content was over 0.32, more than four times the legal limit.

Farren suffered only minor injuries in the incident. A student who was in the car with Malone was not injured.

The police report said Malone has a mandatory court date of Feb. 20.

'How can you teach kids how to drive'

According to the report, Farren was assisting with traffic in the Germantown High School parking lot as school was letting out when he saw a Just Drive vehicle parked near the gate, where it is generally stationed.

Farren said a student got into the vehicle, and he saw the vehicle do a U-turn, then stop. Farren thought the driver was attempting to correct his parking spot at the time. The vehicle then began to back up and struck the gate, causing the end of the gate to strike Farren's left abdomen area/rib cage area, the report said.

Farren stated he went up to the driver's side window of the vehicle, but Malone wouldn't open the door. Farren then exchanged words with Malone, such as "How can you teach kids how to drive?" Malone "mumbled something incoherent" to Farren, the report said. 

Farren said the vehicle then drove off, and he contacted the school district's school resource officer, Toni Olson.

Just Drive's driving instructor, Corey J. Malone was arrested for driving drunk while giving a student a driving lesson Jan. 6.  Because of this, Just Drive driving school, where he was employed, will be suspended from April 1 to June 1.

Instructor offers to take student home

According to the police report, the student in the vehicle said Malone drove to a neighborhood and pulled over to switch places so the student could begin his driving lesson. The student began driving normally and was casually speaking to the instructor for 30 minutes until Malone told him to pull over so he could speak to his boss. 

Malone exited the vehicle and the student heard him say, "What do you mean I hit someone?" After a few minutes, Malone got back in the car and told the student to drive back to Germantown High School. Once at the school, Malone offered to drive the student home, which the student refused.

Malone left the school and drove to the driving school's headquarters in Germantown, where police found him. He admitted to police he was intoxicated and had been out drinking the night before, according to police. Malone also failed field sobriety tests, the report said.

Just Drive said in an email that Malone is no longer employed at the driving school.

District takes action

A statement from Germantown School District Superintendent Jeff Holmes said the driver and the driving school are not affiliated with the district. Just Drive picks up and drops off students at Germantown High School, according to the driving school's website.

Holmes said in the statement that "immediate action was necessary. He said the district has prohibited Just Drive from bringing its employees or vehicles onto district property until further notice. 

"We recognize that this may temporarily inconvenience students and parents who use this service, and regret that this suspension of the company's access privileges was necessary. Nevertheless, the district cannot ignore clear safety hazards for our staff and students," Holmes said. 

"In addition, the district has to be satisfied that organizations that serve our students and parents for other, non-school purposes are taking all necessary steps to maximize everyone's safety when they access district premises. Consequently, this action was necessary and will remain in effect, unless and until the district receives appropriate assurances and competent supporting information that establish that the district's safety concerns have been properly addressed."

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.