No injuries when DUI suspect crashed into school bus

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported that an intoxicated man with a suspended driver’s license, driving a stolen vehicle, crashed into a school bus on Tuesday.

The school bus driver said that the car crossed the center line of Rich Road SE and hit the bus, which was not moving at the time, at approximately 8:07 a.m. on June 8.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported that Chad Nolan Krizan, 41, of Yelm, is accused of driving the 2002 Hyundai Accent that collided with the bus and that the car had been reported stolen. Krizan told a sheriff’s deputy that he had fallen asleep before the collision.   

Before colliding with the bus the vehicle then destroyed some nearby mailboxes. There were no injuries on the school bus.

Deputies  stated that the roadway of Rich Road SE is “straight in this location” with a “clear line of sight with good visibility.”

The vehicle had been reported stolen from a Tumwater address at 6:30 p.m. on June 7.

When asked if he was impaired, Krizan denied drug use. When arrested, Krizan notified Thurston Sheriff’s Deputies about a capped needle in his pocket. Krizan was speaking “very softly” and was “having trouble keeping his eyes open” and was “falling asleep.”

Krizan claimed that a friend had let him use the Hyundai, though admitted that the vehicle wasn’t her’s either. A search of the vehicle revealed a plastic tube that previously contained marijuana.

When deputies finished a DUI investigation on the crash, Krizan refused to answer any more questions and wanted to speak to a lawyer. Deputies applied for a search warrant for DUI blood testing. Krizan informed the officers multiple times that he would not consent to providing a blood sample and would resist if hospital staff attempted to take blood from him.

Upon arrival at Capital Medical Center, Krizan became “lethargic” again and began “falling asleep” every few seconds while answering the staff’s questions. Krizan admitted to the CMC staff that he had recently used heroin and hadn’t slept in over a day. Krizan managed to sleep for an hour, but then became aggressive with CMC staff.

Krizan told CMC staff that if anyone touched him that he would get “violent” and “fight us.”

After being discharged from CMC en route to the Thurston County Jail, Krizan began yelling that people were after him and that the police were helping them. Krizan then slammed his head against the partition in the car, causing his head to bleed.

Krizan was booked into the Thurston County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle, driving while license suspended and driving under the influence.