Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford tells KFDM/Fox 4 that a suspect he identifies as Kyle Essary, 23, is in custody after crashing a stolen pickup into a Spurger school bus during a roughly 15 mile pursuit that reached speeds of 100+ mph at times.
No students were hurt in the crash at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. The driver was taking six students to school. Spurger has two campuses housing K-6 and 7-12 students on the same property off Highway 92.
Spurger is a small community southeast of Woodville.
"We caught him half a mile from the scene of the crash," Sheriff Weatherford told KFDM/Fox 4. "He'd just come out of the woods and knocked on a homeowner's door in the Spurger area and asked for a ride. He left and the woman called us. We found him walking on FM 2992. We arrested him. The vehicle he was in had been reported stolen Wednesday night in Colmesneil."
Tyler County deputies and other law enforcement officers were searching for the suspect who crashed into a Spurger school bus after traveling at 100+ mph and refusing to stop during a pursuit.
"A deputy was in the Dam B area on routine patrol this morning, and tried to initiate a traffic stop at about 6:30 this morning," said Sheriff Weatherford. "The driver refused to stop.
Sheriff Weatherford says Essary was driving a white Chevy pickup heading south on FM 92 in the Dam B area. That pickup had been reported stolen Wednesday in the Colmesneil area.
"The vehicle continued at more than 100 mph as it came into the Spurger area," said Sheriff Weatherford. "He took a right on County Road 4375, known as Moss Bridge Road. The suspect doesn't stop, doesn't brake, as he came to the intersection of FM 2992 and FM 4375 west of Spurger. He hit a Spurger school bus that was heading north. The driver fled. He is a white male wearing a camo jacket."
The sheriff says six students were on the bus. No one was hurt. He says parents picked up their children.
"We stayed in the Spurger area and notified residents to call 911 if they saw anyone fitting the description or anyone who was suspicious," said Sheriff Weatherford.
The sheriff says he called Spurger ISD to notify them about the chase and the school bus.
"I came on it while I was driving to work this morning," said Morgan Wright, the Spurger ISD superintendent. "I got on the bus and checked on the kids."
Wright says it looks like the driver of the pickup hit the right front tire of the bus when he crashed into it, then the pickup spun around and hit the bus.
"The driver of the bus had just picked up the students," said Wright. "EMS and a triage nurse checked out the six kids and the female driver. I have to thank her. She sat with the kids, huddled around them. She kept them calm in a chaotic scene. She did a good job and the kids did a good job, as did law enforcement, medical personnel, first responders, everyone. It's scary. It shakes everyone up."
Wright says he believes the parents took their children home after they picked them up.
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