KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – A court hearing for the semiconductor accused of crashing his rig into a school bus carrying a high school hockey team has been adjourned until Monday.
Victor Santos was scheduled to appear for his first hearing in Kosciusko County at 1 p.m. Thursday. However, the hearing had to be postponed due to the need for an interpreter so that Santos could fully understand the charges against him.
Santos faces 26 felony counts, including 22 for criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, as well as 4 counts of grievous bodily harm while operating a vehicle.
The crash happened just after 8 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of US 30 and Center Street. in Warsaw. Warsaw police were on their way to ‘intercept’ the tractor-trailer after multiple reports of a reckless trip on US 30.
They arrived at the scene to find the bus on its side. The bus had 26 people on board, including two coaches, the bus driver and the high school St. Ignatius College Prep hockey team out of Chicago, Illinois. The group was in Indiana for the weekend for a hockey tournament that was taking place in Culver. The team was having dinner in Warsaw and heading to a hotel at the time of the crash, according to police. A total of 16 people were injured.
Court documents relate the scene of the accident. The documents indicate that when asked to exit the vehicle, Santos allegedly stumbled out of the truck.
The documents keep saying police could smell alcohol on Santoshis eyes appeared “red and bright” and his speech was “slurred and slow”.
Police said Santos was also a registered sex offender and convicted of rape in 1999.
Court documents from that conviction show Santos failed a field sobriety test and then refused a chemical test.
The documents also indicate that Santos was taken that night to the hospital for a blood test. His blood alcohol level was 0.13%.
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