The Braves’ Single-A baseball team made it to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday afternoon following an early-morning bus crash that left Carolina Mudcats personnel shaken but not seriously injured.
Greg Young, the Mudcats’ director of broadcasting and media relations, said all team members took a second bus to Myrtle Beach after the original bush flipped in Columbus County, N.C., at about 4 a.m. Tuesday. The team was traveling from Salem, Va., with 33 people on board.
“I think everyone for the most part is in good spirits,” Young said in a telephone interview. “I think the fact everyone was able to get back together quickly, it was comforting to see everyone was OK and moving around. There was a lot of joking after the shock of the situation wore off. I think we all did a really good job of coming together to take care of one another.”
Seven players and a team trainer were treated for injuries at a hospital and released, Columbus County Emergency Services Director Kay Worley told WECT-TV. The Braves said none of the players were seriously injured but the team did not provide specifics.
Among the players on the bus was pitcher Lucas Sims, the Braves’ first-round draft pick in 2012 out of Brookwood High. In a message posted to his Twitter account, Sims wrote that he was “beat up pretty good” but OK.
“About 20 seconds after I walked out of the bathroom, I was standing on some seats and the next thing I know I was thrown to the side and we stop moving,” Sims told WRAL radio. “Just constant chaos broke out.”
The Mudcats were making an overnight trip from Salem to Myrtle Beach, a drive of about 300 miles. Columbus County, N.C., is adjacent to the South Carolina border.
Young said he noticed that the bus driver at one point had to make a detour from the planned route and the team ended up on a “back road” rather than on a highway. He said he was dozing off when he heard the driver scream just before she lost control of the bus while taking a corner.
The bus flipped on its side and skidded off the road.
“It all happened really fast,” Young said. “We were sliding, and have you ever been on a boat and been tossed off a water ski? You hit and for a moment you are out of control and falling and flying. You feel very helpless at that point and you are just hoping it stops and you would walk away. That’s all you can do at that point.”
Young said team members and the bus driver escaped the bus through a hatch on the roof.
Young said some of the players who went to the hospital requested treatment as a precautionary measure and others required it because of their injuries. The players and personnel who did not need medical attention went to a local emergency shelter, where they were joined a short time later by those players who went to the hospital.
The team was back on the road at about 11 a.m. with all team personnel on board.
“We got very lucky,” Young said.
The game scheduled for Myrtle Beach on Tuesday night was postponed.
Young said some Mudcats players could end up on the disabled list because of their injuries.
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