Shocking May 2025 New Prairie High School Bus Crash Brings Hoosiers Together
Hoosiers are still reeling from the recent tragedy suffered in the May 8th St. Joseph County’s New Prairie High School bus crash. Student athletes and their coaches suffered serious injuries in a pile up of two mini-buses and a tractor-trailer truck caused a box truck evading police on Fail Road in LaPorte County.
The two school buses were carrying the junior varsity baseball team and coaching staff to an afternoon game in Hobart when the accident happened. The driver of the box truck, Shawn Wesly Russell Akison, now faces felony charges. Read, “Update #2 – US 20 at Fail Road / Arrest Made,” published by La Porte County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook, May 9, 2025, at 7:54 AM.
Two coaches and seven students were hurt. Several victims were transported for emergency hospital treatment. Two face life-altering traumatic injuries. Coach Rich Shail suffered spinal injuries with fractured vertebrae alongside broken ribs and multiple lacerations; recent updates from Coach Shail’s wife are that surgery decisions cannot be made for around two months, when he will be able to have his body brace (neck to hips) removed.
Student athlete Lucas Bradshaw, 16 years old, suffered even more heart-wrenching trauma. Lucas had to be airlifted from the scene, in a coma. He had been slammed right out of the bus in the force of impact. At last report, he remains in critical condition at South Bend’s Memorial Hospital.
Read, “Romeoville box truck driver charged in NW Indiana crash that injured HS baseball team: sheriff,” written and published by ABC-Chicago on May 9, 2025; “Community offers prayers for those injured in New Prairie school bus crash,” written by Stan Maddux and published by the South Bend Tribune on May 13, 2025; and “Affidavit reveals new details leading up to New Prairie bus crash,” written by Tim Wolak and published by ABC57 on May 15, 2024.
As advocates for accident victims in Indiana and Illinois, we understand how complicated these situations can be, not only for the accident victims themselves but for all who love and care about them, family and friends.
Our sincere concern and our prayers go out to all who have been impacted by this horrible bus crash. It is so very painful given that young teens and their coaching staff – on their way to play some ball on a nice spring afternoon – were harmed here.
2023 Fatal LaPorte County School Bus Crash
It was not that long ago that a devastating tragedy happened in LaPorte County involving a school bus and a teenager, where 15-year-old Julien Hernandez perished in a crash involving his scooter and the bus. Julien, on his Razor, had moved from the sidewalk on South Avenue and into the intersection with Michigan Avenue when the scooter collided with a New Prairie School Bus. Read, “No charges in fatal La Porte accident involving 15-year-old,” written and published by 16NewsNow on October 19, 2023.
Many Hoosiers still remember Julien’s untimely passing in such a grievous accident. He is not forgotten.
School Bus Safety: Federal and State Protections
School buses are a unique type of motor vehicle. They are usually (but not always) big and heavy – especially with a full load of passengers. They are designed to stop frequently, and not necessarily built for luxurious comfort over long hauls. And, they may not have all the safety bells and whistles of a parent’s sedan or SUV, like backup cameras; blind spot warnings; or even air bags and seat belts. Read, “How Vehicle Safety Has Improved Over the Decades,” published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
They are, however, heavily regulated. NHTSA explains that federal law considers any bus to be a “school bus” if “…it is sold or introduced into interstate commerce for purposes that include carrying students to and from school or related events. A bus is a motor vehicle that has capacity of 11 or more people (including the driver). This definition can include vans, but does not include buses operated as common carriers in urban transportation.”
There are federal regulations to protect the safety and care of school buses that are overseen by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 49 CFR §390 et seq. Indiana law also protects school bus drivers and passengers in IC-20-27.
Of course, school districts, municipalities, and counties can also pass legal safety requirements, such as the use of safety belts on a school bus. See, “Education on Proper Use of Seat Belts on School Buses,” Katz, Bryan; Graham, Derek; Davis, Joy; Kissner, Erin; Wright, Waugh; Rigdon, Heather; Jackson, Steve; Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration DOT HS 812 999 (2021).
For more, read: Chicago School Bus Accidents and Injury Claims; School Bus Accidents: Will Congress Make Kids Safer from School Bus Crash Injuries? and School Bus Crashes in Indiana: Proposed New 2019 Laws to Make School Buses Safer for Children.
Indiana Law and School Bus Accidents
From a legal perspective, a bus accident is treated different than other types of motor vehicle accidents, like that involving two cars or a car and a semi-truck. Buses are designed to carry lots of passengers; accordingly, they are bestowed with higher duties of care and safety. School bus drivers must be given special training. They must be monitored and supervised for things like fatigue, impairment, etc. Special attention to things like signals, flashing lights, horns, and other traffic devices are also a must.
Complicating matters for accident victims in a school bus crash is the possibility of limited exposure under the law for government-operated school buses. It may be difficult to sue a governmental entity for personal injury damages in Indiana; legal research is needed on the specifics of the individual incident in order to determine if the shield of immunity can be thwarted and claims successfully made.
Additionally, private companies with contracts to provide bus service to the governmental entity may have legal liability for their failures to protect the bus and its occupants from things that resulted in the bus crash and its aftermath.
School bus crash injury claims may also exist based on the actions or failures to act of others involved in the accident, including other drivers, those with possession, custody, or control of premises or property at or near the accident site, employers or contractors involved with one or more of the vehicles in the crash, manufacturers, suppliers, or designers of motor vehicle parts that failed, and more.
See:
- Deadly Indiana School Bus Crash: Driver Charged With Reckless Homicide
- Bus Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: School Bus Crashes and Metro Bus Accidents
- Impaired School Bus Drivers: Alcohol, Drugs, and OTC Medications
- Accident Reconstruction Experts and Injury Claims
- EDRs and Black Box Recordings in Car Crashes: Technological Data as Evidence of Fault in Personal Injury Claims
The May 2025 school bus accident in LaPorte County, Indiana, is a terrible event in our state’s history. All Hoosiers are impacted by this school bus crash. Please be careful out there!
