Update: Driver with Franklin Park Bus Company Charged with DUI

Niles police Tuesday identified the school bus company that employed the driver who was charged last week with drunken driving in Niles.

Peter Stratigakis, 54, of Harwood Heights was driving a school bus for A&B Bus Service in Franklin Park on Nov. 3 when he got out of his bus and approached an officer who was working on an unrelated traffic stop, and asked for directions to a school, police said.

Police Tuesday said they did not know the name of the school or the school district that Stratigakis was attempting to find when he pulled over near the intersection of Touhy and Central avenues around 3:20 p.m.  

Earlier:

Efforts by Patch to confirm that and other information have so far been unsuccessful. A part-time worker at the company who answered the phone Tuesday morning said the owner, who had left for the day, was the only one who could answer questions.

Patch will provide updates as information becomes available. 

According to police, the officer had noticed the odor of alcohol on Stratigakis' breath and told him to wait on the school bus until he finished the other investigation. The bus engine was running, but the vehicle was unoccupied, when the officer came over to talk to him.

Stratigakis had attempted to use the vehicle's two-way radio to talk to someone but was unable to make it work, the report said. Police later learned it was inoperable.

The officer asked Stratigakis if he had had anything to drink before operating the school bus. According to police, he replied he had had one beer that morning. He showed impairment on field sobriety tests, police said.

He is due to appear in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie.

Get more news. Like Niles Patch on Facebook