WAUKESHA, Wis. — Waukesha County prosecutors withdrew a plea deal offered for Walter Cunningham, a 73-year-old Hartland man accused of taking students on a dangerous bus ride and leaving them on the side of the road in January of 2025.
READ ALSO | Students recall scary bus ride, driver arrested on OWI charge
He’s charged with 28 felony counts of recklessly endangering safety — one count for each child on the bus and one for a parent who got on it. He also faces an operating-while-intoxicated charge.
READ ALSO | Fellow bus drivers call route that led to Hartland bus driver's arrest rowdy and confusing
Judge Michael P. Maxwell addressed the shifting nature of the case.
Watch: Plea deal pulled in Hartland bus driver OWI case; Parents voice concerns as supporters rally
"What was originally charged in this case looks a lot different today based upon the information that both sides have brought forward," Maxwell said.
Many supporters of Cunningham and some who want accountability walked into the Waukesha County Courthouse Monday afternoon expecting a sentencing hearing. It took no more than 7 minutes for the sentencing to be moved to a status hearing.
The prosecution mentioned moving the case to a trial. The defense said they have not accepted the most recent plea deal from the prosecution.
“We haven’t accepted the new deal. There should not, in our opinion, be a felony conviction here,” said Cunningham's attorney, Anthony Cotton.
Chris Weddig has two daughters who were on the bus that day. She planned to read testimonials from herself and her daughter at the hearing.
"That night, my 9-year-old described the situation as 'it was the most terrifying day of her life' and feeling like they were going to be kidnapped," Weddig said.
Weddig said she does not wish jail time for Cunningham, but she wants accountability.
"Do I want him to never drive a bus again? Absolutely, it feels like there's been no sense of remorse in the entire time. There's been no apology," Weddig said.
Cunningham's family and friends are standing up for him.
"Kids are never held accountable. They're always poor little victims, and they're not," Cheri Chounard-Pease said.
Chounard-Pease worked with Cunningham for years as a bus driver.
"I know him. I know him to be a wonderful human being, and to see what he's gone through in the past 14 months makes me sick to my stomach," Chounard-Pease said.
Despite being on opposite sides, both Weddig and Chounard-Pease say they want the case to be resolved.
It has been more than a year since the incident occurred. The next hearing is scheduled for April.
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