A Hartland bus driver originally charged with 28 felonies pleaded no contest to 4 misdemeanor charges in a Waukesha County courtroom, receiving a sentence of time served and one year of probation. Walter Cunningham, a former sub stitute bus driver, faced charges that included putting children's lives at risk. Those felony charges were dropped as part of a plea deal. The four misdemeanor charges included OWI.His attoney says the lab results showed Cunningham had taken Mucinex DM and his prescribed antidepressants on the day he worked as a substitute bus driver for the Hartland-Lakeside School District.Watch: Hartland bus driver gets time served in OWI plea deal: Former Hartland bus driver sentenced to 30 days in jail following January 2025 incidentInvestigators say Cunningham got turned around on the route and missed a couple of stops. Students began yelling on the bus, and some called their parents. At one point, a parent chased down the bus and removed their child and all the other children from the bus. Video surveillance shows Cunningham yelling at the children before that happened, including telling them to shut up. Judge Michael Maxwell said he disagreed with the charging of the case from the start."In my view of things the district attorneys office overcharges this initially which created the hysteria surrounding the case," Maxwell said.The judge also commented on the behavior of some of the students on the bus."My father is from Mr. Cunningham's generation, my father was a Vietnam Veteran. If my father say me do some of the things a couple of the kids, and it was only a few of those kids. I would have gotten his West Point ring across the side of my head," Maxwell said. Maxwell said he understood why parents were concerned and why students who behaved appropriately could have been frightened, but said no one's life was ever in danger.Cunningham was sentenced to 30 days, which he had already served, along with one year of probation. He is also prohibited from driving a school bus or commercial vehicle. The packed courtroom included more than 2 dozen bus drivers who came out in support of Cunningham, saying all charges should have been dropped.Nick Jaros, the parent of one of the students on the bus, described the impact on his daughter."She is terrified, we just recently saw the video. She was an absolute wreck on the bus. I have to speed across town to find her. Kids are everywhere. It was a nightmare," Jaros said.Former bus driver Bill Gillette expressed frustration with the outcome."His life has been wrecked. I hope all the people involved are really happy about this. That American veteran gets screwed like this. It is heartbreaking," Gillette said.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less