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NILES — Niles High School volleyball coach Samantha Zimmerman has resigned following a July 10 drunk driving arrest.

Zimmerman, 34, faces a pretrial conference next Monday in Kalamazoo County on drunk driving charges. She had been the varsity volleyball coach since 2022 and was a first grade teacher at Howard-Ellis Elementary School. She is no longer an employee of the school district. 

According to Kalamazoo County court records, Zimmerman was arrested July 10 by Michigan Department of Natural Resources officers on two misdemeanor charges: operating with a blood alcohol level of .17 or more and operating while impaired by liquor.

She was arraigned on the two charges on July 18, pleaded not guilty and was released on $500 personal recognizance bond. Her next court date is Aug. 5 in Kalamazoo. Her attorney is Jessica LaFond of Kalamazoo.

According to published reports, Zimmerman was driving a vehicle that day filled with five Niles High School students to a volleyball match at Gull Lake High School near Kalamazoo. Her car went off the road and into a ditch. She allegedly failed field sobriety tests.

The students obtained a ride to Gull Lake from others and were not at the scene when officers arrived.