Truck Driver Charged After High-Speed Crash Injures Students, Leaves Teen in Critical Condition
La Porte County, IN – A truck driver is facing a felony charge of criminal recklessness after a high-speed, multi-vehicle crash involving two school buses left several student athletes injured, including one critically, while enroute to a baseball game in Hobart.
The crash occurred around 3:16 p.m., Thursday, at the intersection of US Highway 20 and Fail Road in Kankakee Township. First responders arrived to find a chaotic scene involving a box truck, a semi-trailer, and two small school buses operated by the New Prairie United School Corporation.
One of the buses had overturned in the westbound lane. Six students and the coach were transported to the hospital with various injuries. A 16-year-old student athlete was ejected from the bus and airlifted to a regional trauma center in critical condition. Authorities later confirmed he was in a coma, suffering from a double brain bleed.
Investigators say the driver of the box truck, identified as 39-year-old Shawn Wesly Russell Akison, was traveling westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed, attempting to bypass slowed traffic by driving through the turn lane. Witnesses reported Akison was using his cellphone at the time of the crash. He first struck the rear of the bus, causing it to flip, then collided with a semi-truck and slammed into the side of a second school bus.
Prior to the crash, Akison had reportedly fled from deputies in neighboring St. Joseph County. At the scene, officers noted Akison appeared disoriented and unresponsive behavior consistent with possible substance impairment. He refused to submit to chemical testing, prompting officers to obtain a search warrant for a blood draw, which was conducted at Northwest Health in La Porte.
During a subsequent interview, Akison claimed he did not remember the crash but admitted to using his cellphone. He told investigators he had been on the road since 2:00 a.m., with only a short rest break in South Bend before continuing a delivery route for Amazon.
Akison was booked into the La Porte County Jail and charged with Criminal Recklessness, a Level 5 Felony. He also faces multiple infractions under Indiana’s aggressive driving statute, including following too closely, unsafe operation, speeding, and failure to yield.
The investigation is ongoing, pending toxicology results.
📷- Porter County Regional Scanner Group
