A 19-year-old baseball player died and 32 others were injured when a bus carrying the Iowa Lakes Community College team crashed Wednesday in Calhoun County, Iowa. Carter Johnson, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Iowa State Patrol.
The crash occurred on Highway 4 west of Twin Lakes around 11 a.m. As the team was traveling to Arkansas for a baseball game. The 74-year-old bus driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, went off the road, and overcorrected, causing the bus to roll into a ditch, the Iowa State Patrol reported.
Two passengers were ejected from the bus and became trapped underneath the vehicle. Student-athletes traveling in a separate van behind the bus administered CPR to Johnson, but he could not be revived, authorities said. All 33 passengers on board were transported to hospitals across Iowa for treatment. As of Thursday afternoon, everyone transported by ambulance had been released, though the condition of those life-flighted to Des Moines remained unavailable.
Iowa Lakes Community College President Scott Stokes described the situation as “an incredibly difficult time” for the college community. “Our students, faculty, staff and family have been deeply affected,” Stokes said during a news conference Thursday.
Johnson, a freshman outfielder for the Iowa Lakes Lakers, was known to teammates as “Tater.” He was a graduate of Rapid City Stevens High School in South Dakota. Iowa Lakes Athletics Director Troy Larson said Johnson “was a great teammate, a friend and a valued member of our athletic community.”
The Iowa State Patrol noted that the stretch of Highway 4 where the crash occurred is known to be dangerous, with four fatal accidents reported there in the last decade. The specific curve in the highway is believed to have contributed to the incident, with the driver failing to “negotiate” the turn, according to the patrol’s initial report.
Iowa Lakes Community College canceled classes on Thursday and Friday, but campuses remained open with counseling services available for students, and staff. The college has not announced when classes will resume.