Police Identify and Charge Driver Who Struck Chicago Hockey Team's Bus and Injured Sixteen people
On Saturday night in northern Indiana, a truck collided with a school bus transporting a Chicago high school hockey team, injuring more than a dozen individuals, three of whom were in severe 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 players 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, but thankfully the 3 in ''critical condition'' are now in stable condition.
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.
Victor Santos of Brooklyn, New York, has officially been identified as the driver. According to police, Santos refused a drug/alcohol test at the scene and failed a field sobriety test when it was provided.
Santos has now been legally charged with driving while intoxicated and causing serious bodily harm, albeit these are only preliminary charges and more are expected.
Saint Ignatius athletic director Mike Hurley made the following statement:
| POLL | ||
Should this bus driver be locked up forever? | ||
| Yes | 85 | 65.4 % |
| No | 45 | 34.6 % |
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