Cross-country coach arrested for a DUI while driving team

A high school cross country coach in South Carolina was arrested for a DUI while driving the girls team to an invitational meet on Friday. Second-year assistant coach Dedra Kiser, 42, was charged with driving under the influence and child endangerment. Spartanburg High School has also placed her on paid administative leave, according to the Associated Press.

Kiser was driving a district-owned Chevy Suburban to the 2014 Lowcountry Invitational on James Island, about three hours from their school, when a police officer reported over the radio:

With the seven girls looking on, Kiser told the officer that she had not been drinking, but then failed a field sobriety test and refused a breathalyzer test, according to GoUpstate.com. She was held in the Charleston County Jail until Saturday night, and the athletes' parents had to meet them at the police station Friday night. The team continued with the scheduled meet, so the school district paid for hotel rooms for parents who made the drive to get their girls.

“One thing I want to make clear is that I will never compromise the safety of our children,” Spartanburg School District Superintendent Russell Booker told GoUpstate.com.

“We talked to every parent that night and explained what was going on. The parents were great then and they’re great now. We did everything we could to make sure our parents and children were taken care of throughout the whole thing.”