A bus crash in North Carolina saw a vehicle carrying a prep academy football team smash into an overpass bridge Saturday afternoon in Richmond County, killing four people and injuring more than 40.
Members of the Ramah Jucco Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina, were traveling to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to play the University of God's Chosen when the crash happened on Interstate 74 near Hamlet, North Carolina, WSOC-TV reported.
State troopers told the news station that the bus sustained a blown-out tire around 2:30 p.m., causing the vehicle to slam into a median guardrail and then sideswipe a concrete bridge column. The New York Daily News identified the victims as Brian Kirkpatrick, 43, Clinton College students Devonte Gibson, 21, and Teto Hamilton, 19; and 10-year-old Darice Hicks.
North Carolina Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Gordon told WBTV that 42 people were taken to four area hospitals for treatment of conditions ranging from critical to minor.
"I've been doing this job for 23 years now. I've seen my share, and this is one of the worst, especially when you have a group of students, young people just starting their lives, going to a football game," he said.
One player, Raqwon Corbitt-Washington, told WCNC-TV he was listening to music when the bus went out of control. He contacted his mother immediately after the accident.
"He called me, he was just horrified," Angela, Corbitt-Washington told the station. "He said this person wasn't breathing, he was trying to keep his friend from going in and out. All I could think was thank God my child is okay."
Ramah Jucco is a two-year program that helps students gain eligibility to play college football if they have not met all of their academic requirements after high school, according to its website.