Twin Lakes, Iowa – Authorities on Thursday identified a 19-year-old from South Dakota as the only fatality of A.J Bus crash in rural Iowa This resulted in 32 other members of the community college baseball team being infected.
Carter Johnson was a defensive lineman out of Rapid City in his freshman year at Iowa Lakes Community College, according to the team roster. Johnson died Wednesday after the bus overturned in a ditch alongside a highway near Twin Lakes, Iowa, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, authorities said Thursday.
Iowa State Patrol Lt. Aaron Smit said the bus went off the road “for unknown reasons,” and the accident remains under investigation.
“Carter was a great teammate, friend and valued member of our athletic community,” said Troy Larson, the school’s athletic director. “In his time here, he has had a significant impact on our campus, whether inside our halls, in the classroom or on the field.”
Student athletes in a car behind the bus were performing CPR on Johnson when first responders arrived, Smit said. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Smit said all the other bus passengers – 32 of his colleagues – were injured in the accident but were in stable condition and recovering. Three of them were airlifted for treatment in the Des Moines area.
The team had games scheduled for Thursday and Friday at North Arkansas College in Harrison, Arkansas. Larson said the coaches and players will discuss in the coming weeks how the team is progressing in their season.
“It will take some time for them to recover from some of the injuries,” Smit said, without providing details on the injuries or conditions. “It was a very violent collision.”