TYLER COUNTY, Texas — All students on board a Spurger Independent School District bus are safe after a pickup truck driver crashed into the school bus during a high-speed chase involving Tyler County deputies.
The wreck happened around 6:40 a.m. Thursday after Tyler County deputies tried to stop the driver of a white Chevrolet pickup truck on Highway 92. Deputies said the driver made a traffic violation.
The truck driver fled from deputies, but the chase came to a crashing end when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of FM 2992 and County Road 4375.
The bus driver and students on the school bus were uninjured, according to the district. They were also sent home to rest for the day.
“It's a scary day to be a Pirate, but it's a great day to be in the Pirate Family,” the district said in a statement.
The crashed truck was taken towed away at the scene, but the suspect, later identified as Kyle Essary, 23, of Spurger, ran into the nearby wooded area.
Deputies located Essary around 9 a.m. approximately a half-mile from the crash scene on FM 2992.
Essary was arrested and transported to the Tyler County Jail. He's charged the following:
- Felony evading arrest motor vehicle
- Six felony counts of endangering a child
- Unauthorized use of motor vehicle
Deputies learned the truck Essary was driving was stolen from the Colmesneil Area sometime late last night or early morning, according to a Tyler County Sheriff's Office news release.
Essary could face additional charges as the investigation continues. His bond has not been set at this time.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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