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Louisville man charged with DUI after crash that pushed a car into a JCPS bus with 23 students
Louisville, KentuckyPublished 14 Sep 2026
Ervin Oxlaj-Perez, 20, is accused of rear-ending a car that was pushed into a JCPS bus unloading 23 students on 3rd Street Road, then leaving the scene. He faces DUI, 24 counts of wanton endangerment, no license, and leaving the scene.
Louisville police arrested 20-year-old Ervin Oxlaj-Perez on Thursday after a crash on 3rd Street Road in which he is accused of rear-ending a car that was pushed into a Jefferson County Public Schools bus unloading 23 students. Court records and an arrest citation say he left the scene and was found around the corner. Police described slurred speech and unsteadiness; WLKY and Hoodline also reported an odor of alcohol. He told police he had a drink about two hours earlier. WDRB said the other vehicle was a Ford Escape, that witnesses and video captured the crash, and that he had rear-ended the same driver earlier that day. The other driver had wrist and face injuries; people on the bus refused EMS. He is charged with DUI, 24 counts of wanton endangerment, no operator's license, and leaving the scene, and was set for arraignment Friday morning.
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Man accused of drunk driving, causing crash with JCPS bus that had 23 students on board
Published 10 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026
Facts
Oxlaj-Perez was arrested in the area of 3rd Street Road.
Opinion
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Man arrested after allegedly driving drunk, causing a crash with JCPS bus carrying 23 students
Published 10 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026
Facts
An arrest citation said witnesses and video showed a vehicle rear-ending a Ford Escape.
Police said the vehicle continued until it shut off around the corner from the crash scene.
The other vehicle was a Ford Escape.
Police said the Ford Escape driver had exchanged information with Oxlaj-Perez earlier in the day after he rear-ended her vehicle the first time.
The Ford Escape driver's abrasions came from the airbags.
Opinion
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Louisville Driver Fled After Crash With JCPS Bus Carrying 23 Kids, Police Say
Published 12 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026
Facts
Hoodline said it remains unclear whether any of the 23 students on the bus were physically injured.
First-degree wanton endangerment is a Class D felony punishable by one to five years per count, Hoodline reported, citing the Larmour Law Offices.
Kentucky classifies property-damage-only hit-and-run as a Class A misdemeanor and leaving the scene as a Class D felony when a crash causes death or serious injury, Hoodline reported.
JCPS is Kentucky's largest district, serving about 94,861 students and about 46,000 daily bus riders on 640 routes, according to the district.
JCPS launched a My Ride K-12 app for the 2026-2027 year with real-time GPS bus tracking, according to the district.
Jefferson County recorded 513 alcohol-related collisions in 2020, according to the Bryant Law Center.
Hoodline said comparable statewide 2024 figures were not verified in the available sources.
Kentucky logged 362 school-bus-related collisions in 2024, including 34 injury crashes, per the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
A 10-year NHTSA study found school-transportation-related crashes were 0.3 percent of fatal traffic crashes, Hoodline reported.
Hoodline cited a recent crash in which a driver with a 0.204 percent BAC hit a state trooper's cruiser in a work zone.
Opinion
Hoodline said 24 separate counts compound the potential prison exposure significantly.
Hoodline said school bus crashes remain comparatively rare.
Hoodline framed the case as part of a recent string of impaired and hit-and-run driving incidents in Louisville.