Four female members of a college softball team were killed and several others wounded after a tractor-trailer truck crossed the Oklahoma highway and plowed the side of the all-women team’s bus on Friday night, state authorities said.
The truck was traveling the northbound lane on I-35 near the southern Oklahoma town of Ardmore and crossed a median and hit the bus carrying the team from North Central Texas College, NBC News reported.
The members of the “Lady Lions” team just came from an exhibition game against the Southern Nazarene University in Bethany and were on their way home.
Three members of the team died immediately at the scene while another team member died after being rushed to the local hospital Sulphur, Reuters reported.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton said another 15 passengers were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries, including team’s coach who was driving of the truck. The coach declined treatment at the scene and is expected to be fine.
The incident is being treated as a homicide, the patrol chief said, and the National Transportation Safety Board will also be investigating the incident, Fox News reported. Meanwhile, both drivers would undergo standard toxicology tests.
“We lost four beautiful amazing girls,” the team wrote on its Facebook page on Saturday. “Such sweet lives gone way too soon!”
“We ask for your prayers at this time for our softball team. Their bus has been involved in an accident in Oklahoma.” the community college said in a statement.
