A semi-truck slammed into a school bus carrying student athletes in Indiana, injuring 16 — including two teens in critical condition — and sending one youngster flying from the vehicle, authorities said.
Alleged drunk driver Victor Santos, 58, was “swerving into other lanes and driving at excessive speed” before rear-ending the bus carrying 23 hockey players from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Indiana police said.
One teen was ejected from the bus, and three people were in critical condition, Warsaw Police said in a statement posted on Facebook. Two of the critically injured were students.
Jarring photos of the collision show the yellow school bus flipped on its side with the back rear wheel — the one struck by the truck driver — partially detached.
The hockey team, whose members ranged from 14 to 17, was accompanied by two adult coaches and a bus driver, the police statement said.
Responding officers said Santos reeked of booze and was slurring his speech. He refused to consent to a sobriety test but a search warrant was granted and authorities were awaiting blood test results.
The back rear wheel of the bus was partially detached after being struck by the semi. Facebook/Warsaw Police Departmen
Police said the semi-truck driver was speeding and likely had been drinking when he rear-ended the school bus. Facebook/Warsaw Police Departmen
The semi-truck driver ended up in a ditch one-eighth of a mile down the road. ABC7 Chicago/Warsaw Police Dept.The alleged drunk driver’s vehicle had New Jersey plates and the driver lives in New York, police said. He is in custody awaiting charges.
The young hockey players had just finished dinner in Warsaw after a hockey tournament in Culver and were headed to a nearby hotel, police said.
Culver is about 110 miles southeast of Chicago.
