Louisville, Kentucky: Fleeing Driver Crashes Into JCPS School Bus on Broadway, Seven Taken to Hospitals

Seven people, including three children, were taken to hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday evening after a driver fleeing police crashed into another car and then into a Jefferson County Public Schools bus at South 18th Street and West Broadway. Louisville Metro Police said the driver and a woman riding with him were in critical condition. The three children were taken to be checked out, and police said they were fine at the scene.

How the crash happened

Maj. Russell Miller of the Louisville Metro Police Department's Second Division said detectives were attempting to apprehend a known suspect on Broadway at about 5 p.m. on October 26, when the man took off at a "significant speed." Miller said the suspect then crashed into a second vehicle before also crashing into the JCPS school bus.

A spokesperson for MetroSafe said the accident was reported at South 18th Street and West Broadway, and the Courier Journal's live report said the crash was first called in at about 5:07 p.m. WDRB and WAVE placed the intersection near the YMCA in west Louisville. Miller said the suspect's car, a Lexus, flipped in the crash.

Seven people taken to hospitals

The count of seven comes from three groups. The driver of the Lexus and a female passenger were taken to UofL Hospital with critical injuries, Miller said. Two passengers from the second vehicle were also taken to a hospital. Three children from the bus were taken to be checked out.

About 10 people were on the bus at the time of the crash, including the driver, Miller said. He said the three children were "fine at the scene," and WDRB and WAVE reported that the children did not sustain major injuries. Neither report said the bus driver was among those taken to a hospital.

What police have not said

Police did not say why detectives were attempting to apprehend the suspect, and the reports on Monday evening did not name the driver or any of the other people involved. Miller described the opening of the case only as an attempt to apprehend a known suspect on Broadway, followed by the driver fleeing at speed.

The Louisville Metro Police Department's Traffic Unit is investigating the crash. The investigation will cover the flight from detectives, the first impact with the second vehicle, and the second impact with the school bus at 18th and Broadway.

For families in west Louisville, the facts police have confirmed are narrow but serious. A school bus carrying about 10 people was hit during a police apprehension attempt, two people were critically hurt, and seven people in all went to hospitals on Monday evening. Any further detail, including why the suspect was wanted and whether charges will follow, will have to come from the Traffic Unit investigation.