DENVER — The man accused of crashing into a Denver Public Schools bus last week has been charged with vehicular assault, reckless driving, and vehicular eluding, the Denver District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Louis Ortiz hit the bus after he blew through a stop sign at North Tejon Street and West 39th Avenue while trying to outrun officers on Thursday.
The Denver Police Department said Ortiz eluded them in the same vehicle on March 30 and he took off again when a marked patrol car began following him the day of the crash.
Eighteen students on the bus were hurt, along with two children in the Jeep that Ortiz was driving.
Ortiz, who has a long criminal record, is being held in the Denver Jail. He’s scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday.