On September 26, 2014, just after 9 p.m., 15 college softball players from North Central Texas College were riding home from a game when their chartered bus was involved in a terrible, head-on truck accident on Interstate 35 near Ardmore, Oklahoma.
For reasons yet to be determined, an 18-wheeler suddenly crossed the center line and struck the bus head-on. As a result, 4 of the players were killed and another 11 were injured, 8 of which required hospitalization.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Russell Staley, as well as the Lady Lions’ coach, Van Hedrick, were also taken to the hospital for treatment but both were later released.
After the initial investigation, Captain George Brown of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was quick to announce the presence of “strong evidence that inattention by the semi driver played a role in the crash.”
The team was traveling home to Dallas from Bethany after playing a game earlier that evening at Southern Nazarene University when the crash occurred.
Our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families in the wake of this terrible crash.
Fortunately, a team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently on site in order to conduct further investigations and get to the bottom of exactly what happened.