Wanted 18 Year Old Strikes School Bus Fleeing From Police
On Tuesday, 10/05/2021, sometime just before 3 p.m., a Lake County Sheriff’s Department officer observed a passenger car fail to signal at W. 15th Avenue and Hanley Street in Gary; and then again at W. 19th Avenue, according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
The officer attempted to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled north on Clark Road to W. 6th Avenue, where the driver proceeded through alleys. The driver eventually resumed traveling on W. 6th Avenue and failed to stop at Burr Street; striking a school bus, which was headed southbound on Burr Street. The school bus rolled onto its side but luckily did not have any students on board, Martinez said. A Lake County Sheriff’s Department officer removed the windshield of the bus in an attempt to rescue a school bus driver and an assistant onboard. Good Samaritans helped the two occupants of the bus to safety. Lake County Sheriff’s Department officers placed occupants of the fleeing car into custody. All four occupants of the fleeing car were transported to an area hospital for treatment
The driver of the fleeing car, an 18-year-old male from Gary, is wanted on two warrants: robbery with bodily injury and domestic violence. A loaded handgun was found inside the vehicle, Martinez added.
The incident is under investigation.
