SHELBY COUNTY — Indiana State Police along with multiple other police agencies in Shelby and Decatur counties were involved in a pursuit of a stolen school bus Tuesday morning, eventually arresting a Cincinnati, Ohio suspect in a farm field.
At about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, a suspect, later identified as Chad Avery Murdock, 32, stole a school bus from the Cincinnati area and led police from multiple Indiana police departments on a chase for nearly an hour before the bus was disabled and he was arrested, said Sgt. Steven Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman. A bus driver was doing a practice run on a route and had gotten off the bus, when the suspect got in and drove the bus away, state police said.
Ohio investigators contacted Indiana State Police-Versailles Post that a yellow 2021 school bus had been stolen and was being tracked as it traveled west on I-74 near Batesville in Ripley County in Indiana, Wheeles said. A Batesville police officer and two Indiana State troopers located the vehicle and followed it as it entered Decatur County, Wheeles said.
The troopers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle. Murdock, the suspect and lone occupant of the vehicle, did not stop and fled from the officers in the bus, Wheeles said. The vehicle eventually went off road into numerous fields and yards. The bus drove on numerous county roads as well as U.S. 421 and State Road 9 during the pursuit. Numerous officers from multiple departments joined the pursuit as the bus entered Shelby County.
Officers were eventually able to deploy a tire deflation device successfully which caused the tires on the bus to eventually deflate. At approximately 11:15 a.m., officers boxed the bus in as it drove through another field, causing Murdock to stop the bus near County Road 25E, just south of Shelbyvillea. Murdock was then taken into custody without further incident, Wheeles said.
At least three police vehicles were damaged due to collisions with the bus during the pursuit. Multiple fields and yards also sustained damaged during the pursuit.
Neither Murdock nor any of the police officers involved were injured during the incident.
Murdock was transported to the Decatur County Jail where he was incarcerated on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness with a vehicle, possession of stolen property and criminal mischief. Additional charges are possible, Wheeles said.
ORIGINAL STORY
SHELBY COUNTY — Indiana State Police are investigating after a pursuit ensued of a stolen school bus that went through Decatur and Shelby counties before the bus was stopped and the suspect was taken into custody.
Multiple police vehicles and property were damaged during the pursuit, according to Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman. No injuries were reported.
This story will be updated.
