Sixteen people have been injured, three critically, after a semitrailer collided with a school bus carrying a youth hockey team from Chicago in northern Indiana, police said.
Investigators believe alcohol was a factor in the collision and police arrested the semitrailer driver whom they said was swerving and speeding before the crash in Warsaw in which one person was ejected from the bus.
The crash occurred around 8 p.m. Saturday at an intersection of U.S. 30 and a local street and caused the bus to fall on its driver’s side, police said. The semitrailer ended up in a ditch.
Minutes before the crash, Warsaw authorities said they received "reports of a tractor trailer with New Jersey registration swerving into other lanes and driving at excessive speed." Witnesses and video surveillance informed investigators the semitrailer ran a red light seconds before the crash.
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The semitrailer driver, identified as 58-year-old Victor Santos, of Brooklyn, failed field sobriety tests and refused to consent to a chemical test, authorities said. He's being held on felony charges.
The hockey team was comprised of students ages 14 to 17 from Chicago’s St. Ignatius College Prep and was playing in a tournament in nearby Culver.
Two critically injured students were taken to Fort Wayne Lutheran Hospital and one was transported to a local hospital, police said. Their medical conditions were upgraded Sunday to stable. The other injured students were treated and released.
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The hockey team was headed to a hotel after having dinner in Warsaw, located about 120 miles southeast of Chicago, police said.
