Crime & Safety
Driver Who Slammed Into School Bus Had Drugs In System: Report
Authorities say the semi driver who slammed into a school bus carrying Hope Christian School students had drugs in his system.
LODI, WI — Authorities say that the driver of a semi truck that slammed into a school bus on Interstate 39/90/94 carrying students from Hope Christian School in Milwaukee had opioids and a tranquilizer in his system at the time of the crash.
According to multiple media reports, Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey said that her office expects to charge the driver with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and reckless endangerment.
According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, the crash took place Wednesday just after 10 a.m. on I-39 in the northbound lanes near Lodi. The State Patrol reports that the driver of the bus pulled to the shoulder of the road just after 10 a.m. Wednesday due to a mechanical issue with the bus. At that point, the bus was rear-ended by a semi-truck.
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According to a Channel 3000 report, the bus was carrying students from a Milwaukee-area private school.
When reviewing photos of the accident, it appeared that the rear of the bus suffered the brunt of the collision. The rear bumper and last few rows of the bus were reduced to a mass of twisted metal.
The State Patrol says of the 33 people on the bus, 20 were injured and four of the injuries, including two who were flown from the scene via the Med Flight For Life helicopter with others being transported via ambulance to two other area hospital.
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Another bus was sent from Milwuakee to pick up the remaining passengers.
We have yet to learn the extent of their injuries and which school was affected by this incident.
This is a breaking news story - check back with us later as we find out more about this incident.
BREAKING NEWS: Serious crash closes northbound lanes of I-39/90 near Lodi.
Witnesses at the scene tell 27 News a school bus was involved. #WKOWhttps://twitter.com/hashtag/WK... href="https://t.co/7EUny3Z3b0">https://t.co/7EUny3Z3b0 pic.twitter.com/LPuQnoOJG6">
— WKOW 27 (@WKOW) May" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/WKOW/statu... 23, 2018
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