The driver of the semi-trailer truck that hit the Saint Ignatius College Prep hockey team's bus and injured 20 student athletes back in 2022 pleaded guilty Monday.

A judge in Indiana sentenced Victor Santos, from the Brooklyn borough of New York City, to 22 1/2 years in prison after entering his plea. 

In court Monday, attorneys and families said Santos showed no remorse in court and never apologized. But families of the boys said the justice system provided the closure that Santos himself did not.

Santos was driving a semi-truck when he hit a bus carrying the Saint Ignatius hockey team, injuring 20 players. He was charged with 26 counts each of criminal recklessness and causing serious bodily injury while operating a vehicle.

The Saint Ignatius community calls the plea another step in its healing process.

Photos and videos from the scene of the crash on the evening of Nov. 12, 2022, are haunting. 

The boy on the ground in the center of Chicago, 15-year-old Alex Cook, is fully recovered and back to playing hockey.

"It seems like it just happened yesterday," said Alex's mom, Wendy Cook.

Wendy Cook is grateful her son and his teammates survived.

"If there had been one second difference in what happened, we would have lost, you know, multiple lives," Cook said.

The school community at large remains grateful that everyone survived.

"We sometimes overlook that miracles do happen," said Mr. John Chandler, president of Saint Ignatius College Prep.

Chandler remembers the call he received at the time of the crash. The bus carrying the school's Wolfpack hockey team, on a trip to Indiana for a tournament, was hit by a semi-truck in Warsaw, Indiana, about 40 miles west of Fort Wayne.

"When we received the phone call, obviously, our community was in shock," Chandler said.

At the time of the accident, 23 student athletes from the junior varsity boys' hockey team and two coaches were on the bus. The players were between 14 and 17 years old. The team was en route to a hotel from dinner in Warsaw, Indiana, after a tournament in Culver.

A total of 20 of the student athletes were hurt when Santos ran a red light and hit the bus.

Witnesses said Santos did not appear to try to slow down or swerve to miss the bus, traveling at more than 90 mph. His blood alcohol level was almost twice Indiana's legal limit at the time of the crash.

Attorney Tim Cavanagh represents the families of the injured teens.

"He did not accept responsibility for all this harm he caused these young men, these families," Cavanagh said of Santos.

Wendy Cook said Santos was emotionless.

"I stared him straight in the eyes then and today," she said. "He showed no remorse — no recognition of the pain he put everyone through that night — and it was the same look today."

Eighteen players, their parents, and two coaches also filed a 98-count civil suit against Santos and two trucking companies. The lawsuit names the truck driver and two trucking companies, accusing them of willful disregard of the safety of those on that bus.

The plea in criminal court on Tuesday means accountability to the Saint Ignatius community.

"Today is another step in the healing process for our families, for our students, and certainly for our community," Chandler said.

The boys and their families were focused on moving forward Monday, as was the school community.