Chicago Ice Hockey Team Bus Struck by a Drunk Driver: Many Injured and in Critical Condition

Authorities claim that on Saturday at at 8:06 p.m., a semi-truck struck the bus carrying the junior varsity hockey team from Chicago's Saint Ignatius College Prep High School as they were returning to their hotel following a match in Warsaw.

According to authorities, the bus then turned onto its side, sending at least one kid outside of the bus due to impact.

There were 23 kids, two coaches, and a bus driver aboard the bus when the accident occurred. One of the pupils appeared to have been thrown off the bus by the force of the crash, and at least 16 individuals were sent to nearby hospitals.

Following the collision, three people were said to have "extremely severe" injuries.

According to police, dispatchers had received a report of a semi-truck swerving between lanes, speeding up, and leaving the road as it reached Warsaw on U.S. 30 only two minutes before the crash.

The semi struck the bus, travelled a little distance down the street, and then came to rest in a nearby ditch.

When police approached the driver, they observed a strong odor of alcohol in the cab of the truck, and the driver exhibited slurred speech. After failing field sobriety tests, the driver refused a breathalyzer test, and police obtained a search warrant to get blood samples at a local hospital.

As prosecutors are ready to bring charges, including driving while drunk and inflicting severe bodily injury, the driver, a 58-year-old New Yorker working for a corporation based in New Jersey, is being held.

Additional fees are anticipated.

Following the accident, the Chicago Blackhawks released a statement in which they offered their sympathies and urged supporters to remember the team.

«We send our thoughts and prayers to the Saint Ignatius College Prep's hockey team, their coaches and their families after the team was involved in a serious bus accident last night. Please join us in keeping them in your thoughts,» the team said.