LAFAYETTE, La. — UPDATE: The Opelousas man who stole an unoccupied school bus and caused a major traffic crash on Dec. 15 was apprehended and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center with several traffic violations, including reckless operation of a vehicle, hit and run driving, theft of a motor vehicle and theft.
ADDED DETAILS: Just before 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, Lafayette Police Department officers were called to a mental health facility on Youngsville Highway. A man was being transported to the facility, but when he was met by staff outside, he ran away.
The man was able to locate an unoccupied Lafayette Parish School bus at an unknown location and drove the bus to West Pinhook Road and Ambassador Caffery Parkway, where the multiple-vehicle crash occurred.
After the crash, the man stole a truck from a bystander, who stopped to help with the crash. He drove the stolen truck on Kaliste Saloom Road towards Ambassador Caffery Parkway and was later located by police in Rayne.
ORIGINAL: A major vehicle crash took place on the 1900 block of Pinhook Road.
The crash involved a school bus that had been stolen by a man who escaped while being transported to a mental health facility.
The 26-year-old man from Opelousas stole the unoccupied bus and drove recklessly into oncoming traffic, causing a crash involving four vehicles, according to Lafayette Police Department.
Police said several people were moderately injured in the crash.
The man ran from the scene and stole a truck belonging to a bystander who had stopped to help with the crash.
Police tracked the truck to the Rayne area, where the man was apprehended.
The man could be facing multiple charges related to the incident.
We will update this story with more details as they emerge.
