INDIANAPOLIS – A man reportedly stole a school bus from Cincinnati on Tuesday morning and led several police agencies on an hour-long chase before the vehicle became disabled and he was arrested.
The Indiana State Police (ISP)-Versailles Post was contacted at 10:15 a.m. by Ohio authorities who relayed information that a school bus had been stolen from the Cincinnati area and was heading west on I-74 near Batesville. A Batesville Police Department officer and two ISP troopers followed it as it entered Decatur County.
The troopers tried to initiate a traffic stop but the suspect and lone occupant of the vehicle, Chad Avery Murdock, 32, of Cincinnati, instead sped away, according to law enforcement. The vehicle eventually went off-road into numerous fields and yards and continued on several county and state roads during the pursuit before entering Shelby County.
Officers were eventually able to successfully deploy a tire deflation device. At 11:15 a.m., officers boxed the bus in as it drove through another field, causing Murdock to finally stop near County Road 25E, just south of Shelbyville. The driver was then taken into custody without further incident.
Multiple police vehicles were damaged due to collisions with the bus during the pursuit. Neither Murdock nor any of the police officers involved were injured.
Murdock was transported to the Decatur County Jail where he was incarcerated on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness with a vehicle, possession of stolen property, and criminal mischief. Additional charges are possible.
Courtesy – ISP.
