16 injured when semi crashes into school bus carrying hockey team, Indiana police say

A semitruck ran a red light and crashed into a school bus carrying a high school hockey team, injuring at least 16 people, some critically, according to Indiana police.

The team, which was visiting from Chicago for a hockey tournament, was heading to a hotel in Warsaw after having dinner when the 18-wheeler collided with the back of the school bus after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, the Warsaw Police Department said in a news release.

The bus flipped onto its side and at least one teenager was thrown out by the impact, the release said.

There were 23 students and two coaches on board, all from St. Ignatius College Prep, a Catholic school in Chicago. Of the 16 people injured, three are in “very critical” condition, police said.

Officers found the semitruck a short distance away, stopped in a ditch by the side of the road.

Police had already been searching for the semi just moments before the crash, as calls had come in about a tractor-trailer “swerving into other lanes and driving at excessive speed,” the release said. But before they could get to the truck, it hit the bus.

Police suspect the semi driver, a 58-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, was driving under the influence.

There was a “strong odor” of alcohol in the cab of the semi and from the driver himself, whose speech was slurred, police said.

The driver failed multiple field sobriety tests, the release said. The 58-year-old refused to take a chemical test but officers obtained a warrant allowing them to test blood drawn from the man by hospital staff.

The county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is trying to place charges against the driver, including operating while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury, the release said.

This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 11:19 AM with the headline "16 injured when semi crashes into school bus carrying hockey team, Indiana police say."