A Billings school bus driver accused of hitting a West High student in a crosswalk while driving drunk has been arrested in Washington state.

Timothy Joseph Whalen was arrested Wednesday by the Washington State Patrol near Republic, a small community in northeastern Washington near the Canadian border, said Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney David Carter. The circumstances of Whalen's arrest and where he is being held were not immediately clear, Carter said.

Whalen was arrested on a $50,000 warrant issued by local authorities after Whalen refused to surrender when prosecutors last month filed negligent vehicular assault and three other felony charges for the Sept. 25 incident that injured a 15-year-old girl on her way to school.

Prosecutors allege Whalen was driving drunk when the school bus struck the girl as she was in a crosswalk. The girl suffered a broken leg and other injuries. Whalen had a blood-alcohol level of 0.118 percent two hours after the incident, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors suspected Whalen fled the state after negotiations for his surrender failed, County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said last week.

Whalen, 53, is an attorney and a former Democratic state legislator from Billings.

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