HISD teacher arrested on 3rd DWI charge after he's found passed out in car, deputies say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A suspected drunk driver, who Harris County Precinct 4 constables say they found passed out behind the wheel of his car last week, has been identified as a Houston ISD teacher.

The district confirmed that Joshua Bennett is currently employed there as a teacher. According to a staff directory, he works at Patrick Henry Middle School as an 8th grade teacher.

Deputies say that on Thursday, March 16, they responded to the 22300 block of Hildebrandt Road, where they found Bennett asleep behind the wheel and stopped in a moving lane of traffic.

According to authorities, they gave Bennett standardized field sobriety tests after he showed multiple signs of intoxication when they woke him up.

That's when they discovered that he had been driving while intoxicated, officials say.

"The employee is still employed with the district. The district receives notification and follows standard procedures for reviewing and addressing any case of an employee's arrest," HISD said in a statement to ABC13.

Bennett was already out on bond for two previous DWI charges stemming from 2019 and 2022. Now, this is his third DWI charge.

Bennett was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

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