More than one dozen people were injured, three critically, after a semi slammed into a school bus carrying a Chicago high school hockey team on Saturday night in northern Indiana.
Authorities say the junior varsity hockey team from Chicago’s Saint Ignatius College Prep High School was traveling back to their hotel after a game in Warsaw on Saturday at approximately 8:06 p.m. when their bus was struck by a semi-truck.
The bus then flipped onto its side, ejecting at least one student, according to police.
A total of 23 students, two coaches and a bus driver were on the bus at the time of the collision. At least 16 people were taken to area hospitals, with one of the students apparently being ejected from the bus by the force of the collision.
Three individuals were described as having “very critical” injuries after the crash.
Police say that just two minutes prior to the collision, dispatchers had been notified of a semi-truck that was swerving between lanes, driving at excessive speeds and leaving the roadway as it entered Warsaw on U.S. 30.
After striking the bus, the semi drove a short distance down the roadway before coming to rest in a nearby ditch.
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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.
The driver, identified as a 58-year-old New York resident driving for a company out of New Jersey, is being detained as prosecutors prepare to file charges, including operating while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury.
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Additional charges are expected.
The Chicago Blackhawks issued a statement after the crash, expressing their condolences and encouraging fans to keep the team in their thoughts.
“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.
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