Trending

1 dead, 32 injured in crash involving community college baseball team

File photo. A bus carrying members of the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team overturned, killing one person.
Baseball team bus crash: File photo. A bus carrying members of the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team overturned, killing one person and injuring 32. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

One person was killed and 32 others were injured when a bus carrying an Iowa community college baseball team crashed and overturned into a ditch on Wednesday, authorities said.

According to a news release from the Iowa State Patrol, a bus carrying members of the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team went off the road and overturned shortly before 11 a.m. CT near Twin Lakes, located about 110 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The crash occurred on a stretch of road sometimes called the Jolley curve, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner told the Fort Dodge Messenger newspaper.

The cause of the crash was unclear.

Gardner told KCCI that 33 people were on board the bus; the 32 people who survived sustained injuries that ranged from minor to serious, the trooper said.

In a news release, the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said one person was pronounced dead at the scene, KCCI reported.

None of the crash victims has been publicly identified, according to the television station.

The Iowa Lakes baseball team (1-3) was traveling to Arkansas to play four games at North Arkansas College in Harrison beginning Thursday, ESPN reported. All of the games have been canceled.

The school is a member of the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. In a statement, conference officials said they were “heartbroken” to learn about the accident.

“The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority,” Estherville-based Iowa Lakes Community College said in a written statement. “The college is actively supporting those affected and communicating directly with families. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved and their families, the college will not be releasing names or additional details at this time.”

UnityPoint Health received 12 of the injured people at two of its hospitals, the Messenger reported. Two of them were airlifted to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. The other 10 were taken by ambulance to Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge.

The remaining patients were taken to other area hospitals, according to the newspaper.

The crash remains under investigation, state police said.

The Iowa Lakes baseball program is led by Chris Witzke, who was named coach in 2023, the Messenger reported.

0