SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — Police chased and arrested a person at the wheel of a stolen school bus for miles, across multiple county lines, before the chase ended in Shelby County, Indiana, according to Indiana State Police.
A spokesperson with the Cincinnati Police Department said the bus was stolen out of CPD district 2, from the 2300 block of Grand Avenue in East Walnut Hills.
ISP said they received word of the theft and pursuit from Ohio authorities at around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday morning.
“It’s not normal, I mean we don’t have school bus pursuits very often if ever," said Indiana State Police spokesperson, Sgt. Stephen Wheeles.
ISP said 32-year-old Chad Murdock was arrested without incident and no one was hurt in the chase or theft, though multiple police vehicles and property were damaged during the chase. In all, ISP said at least three police vehicles were damaged by collisions with the bus during the pursuit.
According to ISP, troopers attempted to stop Murdock several times, but he continued to evade police, driving off-road and into numerous fields and yards. Officers chased him through Decatur and Shelby counties.
“What I initially heard was that the bus driver was practicing or getting used to a route for a summer, summer classes that he would have to drive a route for. That driver was out of the vehicle, but close by when the suspect apparently just jumped in and took off,” Wheeles said.
Eventually, Murdock hit officers' stop sticks, which caused the tires on the bus to deflate. At around 11:15, an hour after Indiana officers joined the chase, officers boxed in the bus in a cornfield and stopped him near County Road 25, just south of Shelbyville, Indiana.
Murdock will face "numerous charges," said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, with ISP. Currently, he's charged with resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness with a vehicle, possession of stolen property and criminal mischief, though additional charges could be added, Wheeles said.
