Bus Crash Survivors Welcomed With Tears

Mar 05, 01:51 PM

Current Headlines: By Jc Reindl, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Mar. 5--Several Bluffton University baseball players who walked away from Friday's bus crash in Atlanta stepped from a plane yesterday at Toledo Express Airport to face blistering cold and wind.

They were greeted with hugs and tears on the tarmac by friends and relatives, as well as by the sight of a hearse.

While the cabin of the AirTran Airways charter flight from Atlanta held 30 passengers -- players, university officials, and family members who had flown down earlier -- inside the cargo hold were the bodies of two of the four baseball players who died when the team's charter bus crashed on an Atlanta highway, David Betts, 20, of Bryan, and Tyler Williams of Lima.

"We're coming home and he's coming home," said Mr. Betts' sister, Sarah Betts, 23.

She was accompanied on the flight by her parents, grandfather, and older sister, Rachel Betts, all of whom are Bluffton University graduates. "We said we wouldn't leave Atlanta without him," Rachel Betts said.

The bodies of the other players who were killed, Scott Harmon of Lima and Cody Holp of Arcanum, Ohio, as well as those of bus driver, Jerome Niemeyer and his wife, Jean Niemeyer, who also died in the crash, were transported privately from Atlanta, said Robin Bowlus, a spokesman for Bluffton University.

The only team members who remain in Atlanta are the five hospitalized players and their coach, James Grandey, who was also seriously injured, and their student coach.

Yesterday in Atlanta, investigators interviewed two players and a coach who were recovering from injuries.

One player said they had seen nothing unusual up until the time of the accident, and the driver was not talking on a cell phone or radio, said Kitty Higgins, who is leading the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation.

There are tire marks at the scene, but they do not suggest the driver slammed on his brakes, Ms. Higgins said.

It appeared that he realized his mistake, she said, and the bus showed no signs of mechanical problems.

Georgia transportation officials said they had no immediate plans to close or add safety signs to the highway exit ramp where the bus crashed.

The AirTran flight to Toledo arrived at TOL Aviation at approximately 4:15 p.m. yesterday.

Less than 48 hours earlier on the day of the accident, many of those on board had departed for Atlanta from the same terminal.

Bluffton University President James Harder was among the passengers who returned to Toledo yesterday. He spoke to news reporters and camera crews.

"We were sending a baseball team to a spring break training exercise and tournament," he said. "They didn't make it, but as I reflected on that, I think they came together as a team in ways we couldn't have imagined going down there."

"They became better individuals because of that," Mr. Harder added.

David Betts' father, John Betts, shivered with emotion and fought back tears as he explained how the purple Bluffton baseball cap he wore was the same one his son had carried on the bus.

It still smelled of diesel fuel from the crash, he said.

"It gives us some comfort knowing he was doing what he loved, and to know that he was happy the final moments and seconds of his life," Mr. Betts said.

John Betts said he had learned that his son was supposed to have been one of the starters during the team's first game of their spring break trip Saturday in Sarasota, Fla., against Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va.

"He hadn't told us," the elder Mr. Betts said. "He wanted to surprise us."

Funeral arrangements and dates for memorial services are incomplete, university officials said.

The university is still deciding whether the baseball team will play its upcoming season.

"So far we've just been dealing with the human tragedy," Mr. Harder said. "We have a lot of healing to do."

The university president said he anticipates that players who are healthy will return to campus March 12 when classes resume after spring break.

"They need to be with their friends on campus, and they want to be back to school," he said.

Mr. Harder made time in his remarks to thank AirTran as well as rescuers, hospital officials, and others in Atlanta for their assistance during the tragedy.

"We are deeply indebted to so many wonderful people who have been so very helpful and caring," he said. "We truly experienced the hand of God reaching out to us through people in that community."

Staff Writer Clyde Hughes contributed to this report. Information from the Associated Press was also used.

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