6 killed, 29 injured after bus drives off Atlanta highway ramp

By The Associated Press

Posted 1:55AM on Saturday 3rd March 2007 ( 18 years ago )

The annual spring trip to Florida was a highlight for the small university's baseball team, a chance to escape the dreary cold and snow and play ball in the sun.Players weren't guaranteed a spot on the bus trip, especially the freshmen, and pitcher Scott Harmon worked all winter at Bluffton University to earn his way."When baseball season comes around, everyone wants to know 'Did you make the bus?'" said Rustin Pickett, a senior and former player.Harmon's success turned tragic after the team's bus went off a highway overpass and slammed onto the pavement 30 feet below Friday in Atlanta. He was killed along with three teammates, the bus driver and the driver's wife.Many students like Harmon attend the Mennonite-affiliated university with a focus on playing sports at the Division III level, where the cheering sections are small and typically consist of parents and friends.For Harmon, making the trip was a big accomplishment and well deserved."He had a great work ethic," said Matt Rau, a volunteer assistant with the baseball team. "Every kid on that bus was a good kid. They're here playing because they love the game."Matt Ferguson, a freshman baseball player from Pleasant Hill, said most of the freshmen didn't make the trip."We were bummed out we didn't get to go," he said. "Now, we don't know what to think."Investigators said the driver apparently mistook an exit ramp for a lane and went into the curve at full speed. It was dark at the time, but the weather was clear.The university identified the victims as Harmon; sophomores David Betts of Bryan and Tyler Williams of Lima; freshman Cody Holp of Arcanum; and bus driver Jerome Niemeyer and his wife, Jean Niemeyer of Columbus Grove.Aside from the six killed, 28 players and their coach, James Grandey, 29, were taken to the hospital. While many were soon released, Grandey and six players were reported in serious or critical condition. The players' injuries included broken bones, cuts and bruises.Among the students listed in serious condition was William Grandlinard, 19, a freshman left-handed pitcher from Berne, Ind. His father and two sisters caught a plane from Indianapolis to visit him in the hospital.He suffered a concussion, a broken left arm, cracked ribs and injuries to the spleen and liver, said his father, Kris Grandlinard, 40."I don't think he's really grasped the severity of the situation just yet. He knows there's some kids that have died, but he don't know who yet. And I don't know if he really wants to know," he said.On the 1,150-student campus in Bluffton, about 50 miles south of Toledo, candles flickered inside the gymnasium on campus Friday evening as about 500 people _ mostly residents from the small town along with students _ gathered for a vigil. The service began with several quiet moments as people reflected on the accident and fought back tears."Lord, we light these candles as a community of faith, a community that grieves," said Eric Fulcomer, dean of students. At the center of the gym floor, a baseball and glove sat on table surrounded by candles.Classes were canceled Friday, along with other sports trips that had been scheduled during next week's spring break. Airlines arranged for the players' parents to fly to Atlanta free on Friday evening.The bus had set out from Ohio the evening before and had traveled all night long before it went off the road and landed on its side about at about 5:30 a.m. on Interstate 75. Two vehicles under the overpass were struck by the bus, but their drivers were not hurt."I just looked out and saw the road coming up at me. I remember the catcher tapping me on the head, telling me to get out because there was gas all over," said A.J. Ramthun, an 18-year-old second-baseman from Springfield, who was asleep in a window seat and suffered a broken collarbone and cuts on his face from broken glass. "I heard some guys crying, 'I'm stuck! I'm stuck!'"The National Transportation Safety Board was called in to investigate. Board member Kitty Higgins said findings of the investigation will be released within a year.Investigators said there were no skid marks, and they hoped to tap into the bus' computer system for clues. The driver had boarded the bus with his wife less than an hour before the wreck, relieving another driver, authorities said.Both were wearing seat belts, Higgins said, but it was not known if any of the passengers were. Motorcoaches like the one involved typically do not have seat belts in the passenger section. Calls to the charter company, Executive Coach Luxury Travel Inc. of Ottawa in northwest Ohio were not immediately returned.A statement headlined "We Grieve" on the company's Web site said in red letters: "We at Executive Coach Luxury Travel Inc. are deeply saddened by this travesty. We are continuing to cooperate with the officials investigating the accident in Atlanta, Ga. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their families."The university is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. About one-fifth of the students are Mennonite, and the school stresses spirituality, but it is open to all religious backgrounds. Smoking and drinking are banned on campus.The baseball team had been scheduled to play its first spring-training game of the season in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday and had eight more games scheduled in Fort Myers, Fla.At a campus chapel service the night before the bus trip, students had prayed for safe travel for their sports teams and other students during spring break."Sometimes you take that stuff for granted," said Katie Barrington, a junior from Brooklyn Heights.___Associated Press writer Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report.___On the Net:HASH(0x1ce0c58)

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