CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Boone High School graduate said he jumped into action to save a college teammate as the bus they were on crashed in North Carolina.
Four people died and 42 others were injured.
There were two Boone High School graduates on the bus and both were hurt in the crash.
Tommy Stevenson, 19, now plays football for Clinton College in South Carolina.
This Boone High graduate survived a deadly bus crash carrying a college football team in North Carolina. At 11, how he helped his team pic.twitter.com/jcesZ8pOH2
— Ty Russell (@TRussellCBS4) September 21, 2016
He was hurt in the crash.
“A little sore, bumps and bruises and cuts. Besides that, I’m OK,” he said.
The bus was traveling from Rock Hill, South Carolina to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“We felt the bus shake a little bit and then all of a sudden, we heard the tire blow,” Stevenson said.
Investigators said the driver lost control of the bus, which hit the median guardrail and sideswiped a concrete bridge.
“I threw my body over the person sitting next to me so they wouldn’t go out the window,” Stevenson said.
The North Carolina Highway Patrol said it was the left front tire that blew out on the bus.
The owner of Dynamic Tours and Transportation said tires like the one on the bus that crashed weigh about 300 pounds once filled with air.
The bus driver, a coach’s 10-year-old son and two players were killed, one of whom was close to Stevenson.
“Every single game I play, I’m going to play a little bit for him,” Stevenson said.
The other Boone graduate, Malik Washington, is OK.
Cox Media Group
