National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
Bluffton team involved in bus accident
The NCAA News
Four Bluffton University baseball student-athletes died in a bus accident in downtown Atlanta March 2.
The team was on its way to Florida to open its season with several spring-break games when the bus they were riding in tumbled off an overpass onto Interstate 75 before dawn. The driver and his wife also were killed.
The remaining 29 team members and coaches were injured, three critically. The team was scheduled to play a doubleheader with Eastern Mennonite University March 3 in Sarasota, then was headed to Fort Myers to participate in the Gene Cusic Classic beginning March 5.
Killed in the crash were student-athletes Tyler Williams, a sophomore outfielder from Lima, Ohio; David Betts, a sophomore infielder from Bryan, Ohio; Scott Harmon, a freshman infielder from Lima, Ohio; and Cody Holp, a freshman pitcher from Arcanum, Ohio. Bus driver Jerome Niemeyer and his wife Jean, from Columbus Grove, Ohio, also died.
The bus was southbound in the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane of southbound I-75 when it apparently took a left-side exit ramp through a T-intersection at the top of the ramp, plunging across the overpass and over the bridge rail before landing in the southbound lanes of I-75. The bus came to rest on the driver’s side.
“This is a profoundly tragic and sad day for the Bluffton University campus community,” said Bluffton President James M. Harder the day of the crash. “We appreciate the support we have been receiving from individuals and institutions both local and national. Our students and campus community are a close-knit family, and all are impacted by the unfolding events.”
Bluffton canceled classes the day of the accident and several student organizations scuttled plans for spring-break trips to allow students to be with their families. The institution also made counselors, pastors and other community members available for students. The campus held a prayer vigil the day of the accident and will conduct a memorial on campus March 12.
NCAA President Myles Brand pledged the Association’s support. “We are still learning about the details of the accident, and I pledge the NCAA’s full support to assist the university in every way possible,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is the health and well-being of those affected by the accident.”
The NCAA has reached out to both Bluffton and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference officials to assist with any issues that arise from the accident. The NCAA also sponsors a catastrophic-injury insurance program that covers student-athletes who are killed or catastrophically injured while participating in a covered intercollegiate athletics activity. The coverage includes a $25,000 death benefit and medical benefits for injuries that exceed $75,000, secondary to any other valid and collectible coverage that may be in place. The plan’s provider, Mutual of Omaha, is working with those involved in the accident.
The university established a fund for the baseball team at a local bank. Contributions can be made by check payable to Bluffton University and mailed to Citizens National Bank, 102 S. Main Street, Bluffton, Ohio 45817. Credit card contributions may be made by phone at 419/358-3324.
Bluffton University is a Division III institution affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. About 1,200 students are enrolled at the northwest Ohio campus.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident because it involved chartered transportation.
Intercollegiate athletics is no stranger to tragic accidents during travel. After a plane crash that claimed the lives of eight members of the Oklahoma State University men’s basketball program in 2001, the NCAA, the NTSB, the American Council on Education and United Educators Insurance collaborated to produce a report about safety in student transportation. The report is at www.ncaa.org/sports_sciences/safety_in_student_transportation.pdf.
|
The NCAA News
Four Bluffton University baseball student-athletes died in a bus accident in downtown Atlanta March 2.The team was on its way to Florida to open its season with several spring-break games when the bus they were riding in tumbled off an overpass onto Interstate 75 before dawn. The driver and his wife also were killed.
The remaining 29 team members and coaches were injured, three critically. The team was scheduled to play a doubleheader with Eastern Mennonite University March 3 in Sarasota, then was headed to Fort Myers to participate in the Gene Cusic Classic beginning March 5.
Killed in the crash were student-athletes Tyler Williams, a sophomore outfielder from Lima, Ohio; David Betts, a sophomore infielder from Bryan, Ohio; Scott Harmon, a freshman infielder from Lima, Ohio; and Cody Holp, a freshman pitcher from Arcanum, Ohio. Bus driver Jerome Niemeyer and his wife Jean, from Columbus Grove, Ohio, also died.The bus was southbound in the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane of southbound I-75 when it apparently took a left-side exit ramp through a T-intersection at the top of the ramp, plunging across the overpass and over the bridge rail before landing in the southbound lanes of I-75. The bus came to rest on the driver’s side.
“This is a profoundly tragic and sad day for the Bluffton University campus community,” said Bluffton President James M. Harder the day of the crash. “We appreciate the support we have been receiving from individuals and institutions both local and national. Our students and campus community are a close-knit family, and all are impacted by the unfolding events.”Bluffton canceled classes the day of the accident and several student organizations scuttled plans for spring-break trips to allow students to be with their families. The institution also made counselors, pastors and other community members available for students. The campus held a prayer vigil the day of the accident and will conduct a memorial on campus March 12.
NCAA President Myles Brand pledged the Association’s support. “We are still learning about the details of the accident, and I pledge the NCAA’s full support to assist the university in every way possible,” he said in a statement. “Our priority is the health and well-being of those affected by the accident.”The NCAA has reached out to both Bluffton and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference officials to assist with any issues that arise from the accident. The NCAA also sponsors a catastrophic-injury insurance program that covers student-athletes who are killed or catastrophically injured while participating in a covered intercollegiate athletics activity. The coverage includes a $25,000 death benefit and medical benefits for injuries that exceed $75,000, secondary to any other valid and collectible coverage that may be in place. The plan’s provider, Mutual of Omaha, is working with those involved in the accident.
The university established a fund for the baseball team at a local bank. Contributions can be made by check payable to Bluffton University and mailed to Citizens National Bank, 102 S. Main Street, Bluffton, Ohio 45817. Credit card contributions may be made by phone at 419/358-3324.
Bluffton University is a Division III institution affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. About 1,200 students are enrolled at the northwest Ohio campus.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident because it involved chartered transportation.
Intercollegiate athletics is no stranger to tragic accidents during travel. After a plane crash that claimed the lives of eight members of the Oklahoma State University men’s basketball program in 2001, the NCAA, the NTSB, the American Council on Education and United Educators Insurance collaborated to produce a report about safety in student transportation. The report is at www.ncaa.org/sports_sciences/safety_in_student_transportation.pdf.
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy