"I thought some of the boys were dead," said Michael Rigitano, coach to the St. Ignatius College Prep hockey team. "I didn't know how I would tell their parents.”
Rigitano was among three people giving victim impact statements at the change of plea hearing and sentencing Monday afternoon for Victor Santos, 61, New York.
Santos was the driver of a semitractor/trailer that hit the back portion of a school bus carrying high school hockey players and coaches from St. Ignatious. The team was en route from a hockey tournament in Culver to a hotel. The crash occurred on U.S. 30, near Center Street, on the evening of Nov. 12, 2022.
All 23 players and their coaches were taken to a local hospital, including several who were transported to level 2 trauma facilities.
Santos, who had a BAC of .166 at the scene, was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court III to serve 20 consecutive years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and 2-1/2 years of probation. Santos was ordered to pay court costs and fees and he will receive credit for the 905 days he has already served in the Kosciusko County Jail. Additionally, he was ordered not to consume alcohol while on probation and pay restitution for the victims, should restitution amounts be submitted in the next 90 days.
Through a plea agreement, Santos entered guilty pleas for counts 1-4 of operating a vehicle while intoxicated leading to serious bodily injury, level 5 felonies. He also entered a guilty plea on count 5, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon (semitractor/trailer) — a level 6 felony. Counts 6-26, all criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, were dismissed per the plea agreement.

    Shown (L to R) are Alex Cook, one of the crash victims, his mother Wendy Cook and Timothy Cavanagh, attorney representing the families, as they speak to the media. Photo by Deb Patterson, InkFreenews
  

Judge Chad Miner presided over the hearing, with Dan Hampton as the prosecuting attorney and Thomas Martin as attorney for the defense. Santos also had an interpreter, Susana Navarrete, interpreting in Spanish for the entirety of the hearing.
Santos entered the courtroom wearing handcuffs and leg shackles to see 16 people representing the victims and their families. No longer looking like his booking photo, Santos has graying hair pulled back in a ponytail and a beard.
With video of the crash and impact victim statements, emotions were close to the surface.
Shawn Huffman, father of Owen Huffman, gave his son's account of the crash and the difficult road to recovery from having multiple broken and fractured bones, a ruptured bladder, head and facial lacerations as well as other injuries. Huffman was not fully physically recovered until September 2023, almost a full year after the crash.
His son was a sophomore at the time of the crash and was in the area of the bus that took the impact. Now a junior, Owen has no memory of what happened. He spent 20 days in the Intensive Care Unit. He underwent multiple surgeries and extensive therapy.
Owen Huffman stated he is not at the level of fitness and functionality he had before the crash.
Jack Rogers, one of the students on the bus, gave his account of the pain and suffering he endured as a result of Santos' actions. Rogers stated he had fallen asleep on the bus ride and remembers waking up in the emergency room with questions being asked about his pain.
"I was scared. They were asking me my parents’ phone number and I could not remember," he stated. He suffered a concussion, multiple broken ribs, bruised lung, fractured pelvis in three places, a skull fracture, lacerated liver and other injuries. He later learned he had been ejected from the bus.
He recalled the pain, spending time in a wheelchair and as a freshman lost time in school, affecting his grades.
"It took more than a year to get back to normal. Your act of carelessness will always be with me," Rogers said. "I would ask the judge to consider the maximum allowed sentence."
Wendy Cook, mother of Alex Cook, said, “I see your face in my nightmares." Cook said that when she saw him in the hospital the night of Nov. 12, he showed no regret and no remorse. She also urged the judge to give Santos the maximum allowed sentence.
The Defense
While Santos said he took responsibility for his actions, his defense mentioned his medical conditions of epileptic seizures, anxiety and depression as mitigating factors for his behavior. Santos said several times that his "mind was gone" from January to November 2022. He also asked the victims of the crash for forgiveness and said he was thankful that no one was killed in the accident.
Santos' childhood in the Dominican Republic with a father who was a "torturer" was shared. Martin stated his background was not a justification for his actions, but the manifestation of his medical conditions from the trauma caused by his father.
Throughout Santos' statement he noted episodes where his mind was gone. "I thank God, because I know if I was conscious I would have pulled the button for the brakes and the truck would have jackknifed out of control and it would have been total disaster.
"I thank God no one was killed ... that is something to help me remain more calm. Because God didn't allow it. If they had died, I could never live with myself." He also stated he is not the "monster people keep saying out there. I'm a gentle person, humble and a hard worker." He did acknowledge responsibility for the crash. However, he stated he does not recall being at the hospital, nor recall being interviewed by police.
Closing Statements
"This case is beyond horrendous," said Hampton. He argued Santos' medical issues show he should not have been driving any vehicle, let alone a semitractor-trailer, since January 2022. He also pointed out during the hearing, he saw no remorse from Santos and strongly asked for the maximum sentence.
Martin, in his closing comments, said they did not want to diminish the trauma by the victims, but there were mitigating circumstances that he asked the judge to consider.
"Mr. Santos is here seeking redemption, but redemption comes from God ... God knows his heart and what the words reflect. He will never drive a truck again."
He added Santos will be seeking correct treatment for his anxiety, depression and epilepsy, his willingness to make restitution to the families, has had no accidents prior to the November crash, received his GED, learned English, became a U.S. citizen and received his CDL license.
Before handing down the sentence, Miner agreed with Hampton.
"Santos should have known better than to drive while impaired, especially with the extra training a CDL affords," he said, adding Santos' medical issues did not excuse his actions, and "the sheer recklessness of his choices caused all the pain and harm we heard about today."
Additionally, Miner addressed the victims and families present on how sorry he was for what happened. "What we do today will not undo what happened, but bring closure to the victims and families. I recognize we can't go back in the past."
Following the court hearing the victims, family members and Timothy J. Cavanagh, attorney representing 18 hockey players and two coaches in a 98-count civil suit, met outside the courtroom for interviews.
"It's been 2-1/2 years since this happened and all we heard in there was excuse, excuse, excuse," said Cavanagh. "The judge didn't buy it and gave him the appropriate sentence ... we recognize that Mr. Santos is going to serve 15 years to 12-1/2 years with what he already served. It's very discouraging what happened and that he did not take responsibility."
Cook also spoke to the media, noting all the kids involved have some level of injuries whether physical or emotional. "We wanted this moment of closure. We wanted our kids to learn about someone taking responsibility and he certainly took no responsibility in this. It gave us closure, but it's something we all are going to live with. There's not a day that goes by that it doesn't flash through my mind."
The civil suit has been filed in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court. According to Cavanagh, the suit can now proceed to trial with Santos' deposition. In addition to Santos being named in the suit are Barnes transportation II LLC, the bus driver Everett Shelton, N & V Trucking Express LLC and Uber Freight, LLC. Each participant is asking the court for an amount in excess of the jurisdictional limits of the court, plus costs.