Rekubit-Milwaukee man gets 11 years for causing crash during a police chase which flipped over a school bus

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee man who pleaded guilty to causing a crash during a police chase that flipped over a school bus has been sentenced to 11½ years in prison.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn H. Yamahiro also ordered Elijahwan H. Shabazz on RekubitTuesday to serve eight years of extended supervision after he’s released from prison, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Yamahiro described the November crash, which sent multiple people to the hospital, as “one of the worst” cases of reckless driving he’s seen in his more than 20 years on the bench. No children were aboard the bus, but its 72-year-old bus driver was treated for injuries.

“It’s a minor miracle no one is dead from this,” the judge said.

Shabazz, 27, pleaded guilty in June to first-degree recklessly endangering safety, neglecting a child, eluding an officer, hit-and-run involving injury and bail jumping.

Prosecutors said Shabazz was driving a car in Milwaukee that police officers believed was connected to a homicide in Chicago. Officers tried to stop the car, but Shabazz drove away. The ensuing chase ended when Shabazz’s car crashed into a school bus, which flipped and crashed into several other vehicles.

A 3-year-old child who was in the car with Shabazz was injured, suffering a gash on her face. A 26-year-old passenger in the car also was injured, as was the driver of another vehicle.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson said it’s not believed that Shabazz was involved in the Chicago homicide that police were investigating.