Sixteen student hockey players from the Chicago-based St. Ignatius Prep School were injured Saturday night when an allegedly intoxicated semi-truck driver drove into the team’s bus in Warsaw, Indiana.
Three of the 23 students on board were in critical condition and required surgery after the crash, the high school said in a statement early Sunday. All three students have since been upgraded to “stable” condition Warsaw Police Department Capt. Brad Kellar said. Warsaw is about 190 kilometres southwest of Chicago.
Eyewitnesses and a surveillance camera saw the truck driver go through a red light before swerving into the bus, with at least one student ejected from the vehicle, according to Police.
The driver, a 58-year-old man from New York, is currently in custody after Police “detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and in the cab of the semi.” The driver failed sobriety tests but refused to consent to a chemical test, police said. He now faces felony charges relating to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury.
Police said they were already on their way to intercept the driver before the crash occurred, after being notified of a tractor-trailer swerving into other lanes at a high speed.
