A school bus driver with an addiction to pain killers faked a horrific robbery outside a Grovetown elementary school Tuesday night to get more pills, authorities said.
Amanda Volner described a scene out of a horror movie when she told investigators about the robbery. She said a man in a “Scream” mask and black robe was waiting in the backseat of her vehicle at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when she stopped by Baker Place Elementary School to get some paperwork from her bus.
Volner said he made her drive and ultimately struck her in the head, emptied her purse of $500 cash and prescription medication, stripped her of her jewelry and took her cell phone.
Investigators worked until 2 a.m. Wednesday hunting the robber and ultimately figured out Volner was lying. They checked school surveillance images and her story didn’t add up.
“It’s on video,” sheriff’s Investigator Ryan Whittle said. “Nobody got into her car.”
Confronted by the lies, Volner confessed to making up the story in hopes she could get more pain medicine. Authorities say she used up a month’s supply of pain medicine in three days and figured a report of stolen pills could get her more.
Investigators found her cell phone dumped on the side of a ravine near the school, empty pill bottles further up the road, the jewelry on the side of a dirt road and the cash inside her closet.
Volner, 51, was charged with filing a false report and booked into the Columbia County Jail.
