02/12/26 05:49:00
Printable Page
02/12 17:44 CST Iowa bus crash killed a 19-year-old college baseball player
from South Dakota, officials say
Iowa bus crash killed a 19-year-old college baseball player from South Dakota,
officials say
TWIN LAKES, Iowa (AP) --- Authorities on Thursday identified a 19-year-old from
South Dakota as the sole fatality of a bus crash in rural Iowa that injured 32
other members of a community college's baseball team.
Carter Johnson was an outfielder from Rapid City in his first year at Iowa
Lakes Community College, according to the team roster. Johnson died Wednesday
after the bus overturned in a ditch alongside a highway near Twin Lakes, Iowa,
about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, authorities said
Thursday.
The bus went off the road for "unknown reasons," said Iowa State Patrol Lt.
Aaron Smidt, and the crash is under investigation.
"Carter was a great teammate, a friend and a valued member of our athletic
community," said Troy Larson, the school's athletic director. "In his time
here, he really impacted our campus, both within our halls, in the classrooms,
as well as on the playing field."
Smidt said student-athletes in a vehicle trailing the bus were administering
CPR to Johnson when first responders arrived. Johnson was pronounced dead at
the scene.
All of the other occupants on the bus --- 32 teammates --- were injured in the
crash but are stable and recovering, Smidt said. Three were airlifted for
treatment in the Des Moines area.
The team had games scheduled Thursday and Friday at North Arkansas College in
Harrison, Arkansas. Larson said the coaches and players will discuss in the
weeks ahead how the team will move forward with their season.
"It's going to take some time for them to recover from some injuries," Smidt
said, without providing details on the injuries or the conditions. "It was a
pretty violent collision."
|