ITHACA, N.Y. – Charles Dwight Dixon, the driver of the Big Red Bullet bus that crashed Oct. 14, killing a Cornell alumna and injuring several passengers, was arraigned in Lackawanna County Central Court Friday and is being held in Lackawanna County Prison.
Dixon was arrested by U.S. Marshals in late November and faces more than 30 charges, including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and 12 counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.
Related: 33 charges filed against driver in Big Red Bullet crash
Dixon previously told police he fell asleep at the wheel just before the crash. Reports indicate that he had traces of cocaine in his system.
Thirteen passengers were on board when the bus crashed off the side of I-380 in Covington Township, Pennsylvania. Rebecca Blanco, a 2017 graduate of Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, was killed in the October crash, and an Ithaca resident was seriously injured.
Related: Bus driver told police he fell asleep at the wheel; crash still under investigation
Dixon was transported Friday from the Manhattan Criminal Court Building in New York to the Lackawanna County Central Court, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania State Police. He remains in custody at the Lackawanna County Prison after failing to post $400,000 in bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10 in the Lackawanna County Central Court.