Bluffton University Men's Baseball Team Bus Crash

The men's baseball team from Bluffton University, a Mennonite-affiliated school in Bluffton, Ohio, was on its way to Fort Myers, Florida to play in a baseball tournament. Most of the young men were asleep when the bus reached Atlanta.

At about 5:00AM Eastern time this morning- that would be 2:00AM here on the west coast, the driver exited off Interstate 75 on to the Northside Drive, NW HOV ramp.

The bus crashed off the overpass, back onto I-75, in the southbound lanes.

Six people, including the driver, were killed. Nineteen were injured, some seriously.
Most of the severely injured were taken to Grady Hospital, the level one trauma center in the city center. Others to nearby Piedmont Hospital, around Howell Mill Road

Atlanta police surmise- and it was my guess as well- that the driver never intended to exit.

An unintentional misjudgement, but given the fact that some Atlanta roads are tricky, the drive probably never knew that he was in the HOV lane. Or he probably did, but thought that he was safely into the other lane when the crash took place.

As I watched the news conference by A.J. Ramthun, 18, of Springfield, Ohio (just outside of Dayton), I felt his pain over the loss of some of the fellow baseball players, and the driver and his (the driver's) wife. His older brother Michael, also on the team, suffered hip injuries.

My condolences goes out to the families of those lost, and my prayers go out to the families of the survivors. May the injured find healing and strength through God, and know that the entire country, and the world, are at your side through this tragedy.

Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.