WARSAW, Ind. — A semi-truck driver from New York is being held on drunk driving charges after a crash involving a school bus in northern Indiana Saturday night.
Dispatchers were notified just after 8 p.m. of a semi-truck swerving into other lanes and driving at excessive speeds. The truck was also reportedly driving off the road as it entered Warsaw on U.S. 30.
Police said two minutes later, as officers were on their way to stop the truck, they were told the semi had hit a school bus at U.S. 30 and Center Street and the bus was flipped on its side. The semi-driver continued west and stopped off the road and into a ditch about an eighth of a mile from the intersection.
Investigators believe at least one student was ejected from the bus when the semi-truck hit it from behind.
First responders rushed to the area and began attending to multiple injuries ranging from critical to minor.
The school bus was carrying members of Chicago's Saint Ignatius College Prep's hockey team when it crashed. The team was returning to their hotel after a game against Culver Academies.
There were 23 players between the ages of 14 and 17 on the bus, with the majority of those players being 15 years old. There were also two adult coaches and the bus driver on the bus.
A total of 13 students were injured in the crash, WNDU reported. Two students were sent to Fort Wayne Lutheran Hospital with critical injuries. Another critically injured student was taken to Lutheran Kosciusko County.
The remaining players, coaches and the bus driver were taken by a bus, provided by Warsaw Community Schools, to Lutheran Kosciusko County.
Warsaw officers were assigned to the hospital to assist with triage and notification of family for the minors.
Since the crash, school leaders say two of the teens' conditions have stabilized and one is now out of the hospital.
"Seeing the images was tough, but me and my team are all very thankful that everyone is doing better now," one student said Monday.
The driver of the semi, 58-year-old Victor Santos of Brooklyn, New York, was taken into custody after police smelled alcohol on his breath. Santos subsequently failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a chemical test at the scene.
He is being held on preliminary charges of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony. Prosecutors expect to file formal felony DUI charges against him by Tuesday.
Healing begins at school
On Monday, students at St. Ignatius College Prep wore jerseys to class in support of the injured students. They're signing Wolfpack posters and flags for the teammates, as well. And a Mass was held Monday afternoon at a Chicago-area church in honor of the students.
"We actually had a dinner last night, JV and varsity guys both kind of reuniting," a teammate added. "It's pretty tough for the JV kids. They're all traumatized, so it's pretty sad."
Healing is underway for the entire school community. The school's president calls the students' survival a miracle, considering the violent nature of the crash.
"We have our counselors and our spiritual directors available because many of these young men and women are very close friends with the members of the hockey team," school president John Chandler said. "Truly, these young men had some very good guardian angels."