Accused Drunken Driver Hits Bus and Asks 'Did I Kill Anyone?': Midlothian Police

A Chicago man faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without insurance, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and more, after he struck a school bus filled with 20 people Oct. 12. 

Benjamin Reyes, 25, of the 5700 block of S. Sacramento Avenue was charged after the pickup truck he was driving struck a school bus in the 5200 block of 147th Street at 2:40 a.m.

At the scene, officers found Reyes laying on the ground near a Ford pickup truck, with one Hispanic male passenger in the truck and one sitting on a tire near the truck. Officers observed severe front-end damage to the truck and bus, with the bus in the roadway, while the truck was off the roadway with its tail end in a shallow ditch.

Officers spoke with one of the Hispanic males, who said all he recalled was Reyes, his uncle, driving the truck and swerving in the roadway. Police spoke with the bus driver, who said she saw the truck swerve into the westbound lanes from the eastbound lanes. The driver said she completely stopped the bus, at which point the Ford struck the bus head-on.

Paramedics arrived on the scene, taking Reyes to Palos Community Hospital for treatment. All bus passengers the bus driver and Reyes' two nephews refused medical treatment.

Reyes underwent blood and urine testing at the hospital. When questioned by police, Reyes asked if he killed anyone, which officers told him he did not. He told officers he did not remember the crash.

Reyes was treated and taken to the Oak Forest Police Department where he was charged and released on $3,000 bond with a court date of Dec. 5, at the Bridgeview Court House.