Stolen school bus pursuit ends on Interstate 459 near Acton Road

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The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Alabama State Troopers this morning chased a stolen Blount County school bus through multiple jurisdictions before finally ending the chase on Interstate 459 near Acton Road.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Randy Christian said his office was notified at 7:40 a.m. by the Blount County Sheriff’s Office that a school bus had been stolen, but no children were on the bus.

Just after 8 a.m., Jefferson County deputies came into contact with the stolen bus on Interstate 20/59 South at Alabama Adventure Parkway in Bessemer, but the driver refused to stop the bus, Christian said.

The pursuit then went through McCalla and Hoover. One eyewitness said there were about five Jefferson County deputies chasing the school bus on John Hawkins Parkway between Interstate 459 and Shades Crest Road, headed toward Bessemer, about 8:30 a.m. A state trooper was blocking the road, and the school bus driver swerved into oncoming traffic to get around the trooper, the witness said.

Later, a little before 9 a.m., McCalla resident Lana McKee said she was on her way to work on Interstate 459 when she saw the parade of law enforcement vehicles chasing the bus off Interstate 65 South onto Interstate 459 North.

The law enforcement officers encircled the bus and successfully brought it to a stop, McKee said.

“It was beautiful — a completely seamless operation, as much traffic as there was,” she said.

McKee estimated there were at least 30 law enforcement vehicles on the scene.

Christian said that during the chase, the driver of the school bus hit a state trooper vehicle and attempted to hit other law enforcement vehicles. The driver threw a gun out of the bus window before he finally came to a stop on the interstate and was taken into custody, Christian said.

Jon Anderson contributed to this report.