A 37-year-old man faces multiple charges after an allegedly stolen Kia Optima crashed into a school bus in Geelong on Thursday afternoon, prompting police to open fire. The man was taken to hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his arm and has been remanded in custody to appear at Geelong Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Police allege the vehicle drove towards officers after the collision, leading one officer to discharge their firearm. New mobile phone footage captured by witnesses, including students inside the bus, shows the car reversing into the bus in an attempt to flee before driving towards at least one officer. The Kia then ran down two street signs and collided with another vehicle before stopping on Latrobe Terrace.
The man has been charged with aggravated intentional exposure of an emergency worker to risk, conduct endangering serious injury, dangerous driving, criminal damage, and theft. His passenger, a 43-year-old woman, has been charged with handling stolen goods. She was taken to hospital with minor injuries, as was a female driver from another vehicle.
The bus was carrying students from Sacred Heart College and St Joseph's College, and was outside Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College when the incident occurred. No students were physically injured, but police and school officials acknowledged the traumatic nature of the event. Acting Commander Melissa Webbers said, 'This event would have been absolutely terrifying for anyone who was there, let alone for the many school kids who were all on their first day at school today.'
Andy Kuppe from Mercy Education praised the bus driver for calming the students as a replacement bus was organised. Schools have vowed to monitor students' welfare. Witnesses described a chaotic scene with numerous police cars and an officer pointing a gun at the vehicle.
