Driver expected to plead guilty to charges connected to crash that injured St. Ignatius hockey team

Note: The video attached to this article is from a November 2022 report.

WARSAW, Ind. (WGN) — A former tractor-trailer driver is scheduled to plead guilty Monday to charges connected to a 2022 crash involving a Chicago school bus carrying St. Ignatius College Prep hockey players, an attorney said.

Victor Santos faces 20 years in prison as part of a plea deal agreement. Many of the victims and their parents are expected to provide impact statements at the hearing, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Superior Court #3 in the Justice Building on North Lake Street in Warsaw, Ind.

Authorities alleged Santos was under the influence when he ignored a red traffic light and collided with the bus on Nov. 12, 2022, flipping the bus onto its side. The students on board were members of the St. Ignatius JV hockey team and were headed back to their hotel after finishing a tournament. Of the 23 students on the bus, 16 were injured, three critically. 

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Santos, of New York, was arrested at the scene and charged with multiple felony counts of impaired driving and unlawful gun possession.

More than a dozen of the of the students, their parents and two coaches have also filed a 98-count civil suit against Santos, the bus driver, and four trucking companies.