LANCASTER – A Dauphin County woman pleaded guilty to driving a school van of students while under the influence of a combination of prescription drugs. 41-year-old Heather Shumberger of Lower Paxton Township pleaded guilty to four charges of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of DUI, and one summary traffic offense. A judge will sentence Shumberger following a pre-sentence investigation. Police stopped Shumberger’s van along Route 283 East near the State Road exit in East Hempfield Township in October 2023 after receiving multiple calls from motorists that she was driving erratically and well below the speed limit. Children onboard the bus showed police a video they had taken of Shumberger swerving while driving. Police also obtained dash camera footage of the school van showing Shumberger’s erratic driving. At one point, she began to doze off while speaking to police and was unable to perform a field sobriety test. A blood test later showed that Shumberger had seven prescription drugs in her system at the time. Four student passengers ranging from 9 to 19 years old were inside the van, which Shumberger was transporting from stops in Cumberland and Dauphin Counties to a school in Mount Joy Borough.
HEATHER SHUMBERGER