An ambulance transporting a patient was involved in a collision with a school bus on the morning of Tuesday, March 21, 2015, leaving all three occupants of the ambulance injured. The crash took place as the bus was traveling westward on Indiana State Road 130, near the intersection with County Road 625 in Union Township, just southeast of Hobart. The ambulance was driving southward on County Road 625 when the vehicle allegedly ran a stop sign and smashed into the bus.
A dozen people on board the school bus have also reported injuries and underwent medical treatment both at the scene and at area hospitals. The driver of the ambulance was operating his vehicle on a suspended license—the third such suspension on his driving record. His identity has not been released at this time, but it has been reported that he is 23 years of age and lives in Griffith, Indiana.
More than 60 people were traveling on the Valparaiso School District bus at the time of the accident, only three of whom were adults. All injured parties aboard the bus were children, students of nearby Memorial Elementary School in the fifth grade on their way to a field trip. All parents have been notified and none of the injuries sustained during the collision are said to be life-threatening. School district officials have stated that all injured children were treated and subsequently released to their parents’ care. All uninjured students were taken to school via alternate methods of transport.
Local authorities have reported that the ambulance driver has been issued a ticket for failing to yield as well as numerous other citations, and bystanders stated that the ambulance did not have its lights or sirens on at the time it ran the stop sign and collided with the bus. The ambulance that caused the crash was owned and operated by Illinois-based Superior Ambulance Service. Police have stated that the ambulance driver was not arrested, as none of the citations he was given were “arrestable offenses,” including driving with a suspended license. The investigation remains ongoing, and it is not yet known whether charges will be filed as a result of this accident.