Minors found drinking on party bus in West Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- After police received a call for help at a West Los Angeles parking lot, they discovered occupants on a party bus were underage teens.

Three of the kids on the bus were hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. Video shows the kids were partying on the bus earlier Saturday evening.

Shauna Matthews thought her 16-year-old son was attending a birthday party that night at a friend's house with parents present.

She said she was surprised when he sent her a text message telling her he was on a party bus.

"He was kind of concerned because I think kids were on there getting drunk. They were passing out. Just a lot of inappropriate things going on. They were fighting," Matthews said. "At one point, I was the most alarmed because he said several girls had passed out."

Shauna said there were dozens of kids on the bus, which is owned by Crown Limo, and the driver was the only adult.

She ended up picking up her son from the police station. She and her husband said they are relieved that their son didn't drink or do anything wrong, but are upset that the kids were placed in a dangerous situation.

"I just think this company really needs to evaluate how they're running things. I mean it's unsafe, you've got kids drinking underage," father Robert Matthews said.

According to California law, someone over the age of 25 must be a chaperone if anyone under the age of 21 is on a party bus.

A manager with the limo company said an adult booked the bus, but did not mention it was for minors. He said the company is retraining staff so that everyone is aware of the chaperone requirement.