Alberta man imprisoned for school bus crash, wrong-way police chase

An Alberta man convicted of crimes that included crashing a stolen pickup truck into a school bus and a police chase involving a stolen semi-trailer truck has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Jason Ionson, who is 38, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty during what is known as a summary disposition appearance in Red Deer provincial court on Aug 6.

Court heard the Red Deer man was in a stolen truck on Jan. 22 when he slammed into the bus carrying seven children just south of the city, but no one was hurt.

Ionson got out and brandished a handgun at a passerby who had stopped to help, then fled in that person's vehicle.

On Feb. 16, he led the RCMP on a short chase when he tried to flee in a semi from a Sylvan Lake industrial park into oncoming traffic, but was arrested when police used a tire deflation device to bring the truck to a halt.

Ionson was given credit of eight months for time already spent in custody.