KENOSHA — A Tremper High School teacher has been formally charged with hit and run — more than a month after prosecutors say he struck a school bus full of students in the school parking lot while impaired — and drove away.
Casey Cushman, a Technology Education teacher at Tremper, was formally charged on July 6th following the June 4th incident at Tremper High School. According to the criminal complaint, 11 students were on the bus when it was hit. Multiple students and pedestrians were also in the path of the recklessly driven truck.
According to the complaint, at approximately 2:57 p.m. on June 4th, Cushman's red Dodge pickup truck struck a parked First Student school bus in the Tremper parking lot and fled the scene. Officers followed a fluid trail from the crash, which led them to an open garage — where they found both the truck and Cushman. He was arrested on scene.
Cushman was originally cited for hit and run, operating while intoxicated, and reckless driving endangering safety. He has been formally charged with one count of hit and run — a misdemeanor. The OWI was handled as a municipal citation, as a first-offense OWI in Wisconsin is non-criminal.
Ginger Wyatt, whose daughter Chloe was on that bus, says the incident left her deeply concerned.
"How is a teacher who just got off the clock unable to pull out of a parking lot safely?" Wyatt said. "How are you that messed up? I was really, really concerned."
Her daughter Chloe, a Tremper student who was on the bus, described the moment of impact.
"I got on the bus, sat down — and then it just tilts to the side, and I see this car drive past," Chloe said. "It's just our teacher did a hit and run on us. It's crazy."
KUSD confirmed Cushman was placed on administrative leave the day after the incident. The district has not provided an updated statement on his current employment status.
"People look up to this teacher and to commit such an act against his students and people he like cared about, just not caring and just driving straight off like crazy to me," Chloe said.
TMJ4 News reached out to Cushman directly for comment — he did not respond. TMJ4 News also reached out to the District Attorney's office about the timeline of charges — the DA confirmed Cushman has a court date this Thursday, July 9.
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