SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A Shreveport man has pleaded not guilty to charges he crashed his pickup truck into a school bus during a police chase, sending 15 children to area hospitals.

The Times reports (http://bit.ly/LOgMhS ) 29-year-old Tedric Smith pleaded not guilty Thursday in a Caddo Parish courtroom to one count of hit-and-run and 14 counts of negligent injury.

Police say Smith, a suspect in a cocaine distribution probe, was leading officers on a chase that started June 5 at DiamondJacks Casino in Bossier City and ended with the crash in Shreveport.

The children, ranging from 4 to 16 years old, were treated for minor injuries.

Smith remains jailed at the Caddo Correctional Center.

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