Autopsy: Bus Driver Died of Gunshot Wounds

Glenwood, IL. - A runaway bus driver was fatally shot by police Friday morning as he tried to run down two officers blocking the road in front of the bus in south suburban Glenwood.

An officer fired two shots at the bus as it lurched toward him, striking Ronald Newsome of Chicago, South Holland Police Chief Warren Millsaps said. It wasn't clear whether Newsome had a gun.

Newsome, 35, of the 12100 block of South Wallace, was taken to St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights, where he was pronounced dead, according to a release from South Holland police.

An autopsy Saturday revealed Newsome died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.

Newsome was acting erratically and threatened co-workers when he arrived at First Student Transportation Co. in South Holland on Friday morning, Millsaps said. He was told not to go on his route in Riverdale but took the bus anyway, attempting to run over co-workers as he left.

The bus company called police, and South Holland and Riverdale officers caught up with the bus near Sibley Boulevard and State Street. Officers ordered Newsome out of the bus, but he accelerated and attempted to hit officers standing near the bus.

The bus raced south on State Street for seven miles through South Holland, Thornton and Glenwood, hitting several squad cars and civilian vehicles. No one was seriously injured, Millsaps said, though two police officers suffered minor injuries.

The chase ended when the bus came upon road construction at Glenwood-Lansing Road and Main Street in Glenwood. Officers ordered Newsome out of the stopped bus but he accelerated in an attempt to hit officers standing in front of the bus, the release said.

A South Holland officer fired two shots at the driver, killing him. The bus then rolled into a house on Glenwood-Lansing Road.

"Anytime you have a bus fleeing from police at 65 mph, it's a deadly weapon," Millsaps said. "The officers used the appropriate force necessary to stop him."

A woman who worked at the bus company was on the bus throughout the ordeal, but was not injured.

First Student spokeswoman Glenda Lamont said the driver showed up at the bus lot with "an attitude problem."

"We're not sure why he was acting the way he was, but he was extremely rude to his manager and other employees," Lamont said. "He was told he would not drive a bus this morning."

The driver stormed out of the office and into the bus he usually drives.

She said his manager called parents of the special-education students on his route and told them not to put their children on the bus.

The driver, who has worked for First Student since March, usually picks up students for Riverdale District 148.

She said the company will conduct an internal investigation into the matter.