A crash involving a box truck and two school buses sent several high school students and coaches to the hospital Thursday afternoon in LaPorte County.
LaPorte County deputies arrested a 41-year-old Illinois man after he caused a serious crash Thursday afternoon involving a high school baseball team.
Deputies say Shawn Wesly Russell Akison of Romeoville drove a box truck recklessly on State Road 2 and ignored a traffic stop attempt by a St. Joseph County deputy. The deputy ended the pursuit near County Road 900 East.
Just minutes later deputies responded to a multi-vehicle crash at US 20 and Fail Road. Investigators say Akison’s box truck hit a commercial vehicle and two mini-buses from New Prairie United School Corporation. The buses were carrying New Prairie High School baseball players to a game.
The crash injured two coaches and seven student-athletes. Paramedics treated several at the scene and took others to a local hospital. A medical helicopter flew one student to a regional hospital.
Deputies arrested Akison at the scene and took him to a hospital. After doctors cleared him, deputies booked him into the LaPorte County Jail on a felony charge of criminal recklessness.
Police ask anyone with dashcam footage of the box truck to contact the sheriff’s department. The investigation is ongoing.