An appalling hit-and-run accident took place involving a semi-truck and a school bus on Interstate 65 near Fair Oaks Farm, in northwest Indiana. According to CBS News, good samaritans stopped to help both drivers, but the semi-truck driver fled the scene shortly thereafter, leaving the severely injured school bus driver trapped in the wreckage.
The bus driver, pinned inside his vehicle and facing life-threatening injuries, endured hours of arduous rescue efforts by first responders. He suffered "catastrophic bodily injuries," but his condition remains unknown at this time. Fox59 reports that the semi-truck driver has since been preliminarily charged with one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving catastrophic bodily injury, a Level 4 felony. The accused driver, 57-year-old Aregay Tesfay Gebremariam from Atlanta, allegedly gave inconsistent statements about the events that transpired on the interstate.
Indiana State Police responded to an 11:15 p.m. call on Thursday evening, locating the damaged semi-truck in Jasper County. Per Fox59, officers identified "substantial damage" on Gebremariam's vehicle, which had obviously been involved in a recent significant crash. The semi-truck driver's disrupted account raised suspicions as investigations continue.
Officers were able to extricate the bus driver from the wreckage and transport him to a Chicago hospital for emergency care for his potentially life-threatening injuries. No other passengers were aboard the bus at the time of the collision. Authorities assured the public that alcohol and drugs are not currently suspected to have played a role in the accident.
The Indiana State Police's commercial vehicle enforcement division is expected to complete detailed inspections of both the school bus and semi-truck in an effort to unravel the exact nature of this tragic hit-and-run.
