4 killed in crash of bus carrying Texas women’s college softball team

Four members of the North Central Texas College women’s softball team were killed Friday night when a tractor-trailer crossed a highway median in Oklahoma and struck a bus carrying the team back home, authorities said.

The collision happened just after 9 p.m. on Interstate 35 north of Ardmore, Okla., said Capt. Ronnie Hampton, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Three of the women died at the scene and a fourth was pronounced dead at an area hospital, highway patrol officials said.

At a news conference Saturday morning, college officials said 15 students and one athletic director were on the bus at the time of the crash.

“Words are difficult for us this morning,” said Ben Wallace, president of the school, a two-year community college in Gainsville, Texas, about 70 miles north of Dallas. “This is indeed a sad day for these families and for North Central Texas College. We covet prayers for all of these young ladies and families.”

The National Transportation Safety Board announced Saturday it will send a team of investigators to the site of the crash to assist highway patrol officials. The investigation is expected to last several days.

College officials plan to hold a prayer vigil Sunday evening in Gainsville.

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