Bus transporting school volleyball team involved in fatal crash, North Dakota cops say

A pickup truck driver died in a crash involving a bus carrying a high school volleyball team, North Dakota police say.

The crash happened Thursday, Sept. 14, in Nelson County, about 130 miles northwest of Fargo, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Patrol officers did not provide specifics of the crash but said the pickup truck and school bus collided at an intersection. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene, officers said. The driver’s name has not been publicly released as of Sept. 15.

The school bus was carrying members of the Hatton-Northwood volleyball team, which was traveling to face Nelson County on Thursday. Twenty-five students were on the bus, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

Patrol officers said multiple people on the bus were taken to a Grand Forks hospital with injuries, but it’s unclear exactly how many were hurt. Altru Hospital said in a Facebook post staff were caring for multiple patients involved in the crash.

Northwood Superintendent Shane Azure told the Grand Forks Herald the students were “very fortunate.”

The mother of one of the students on the bus said her daughter received 19 stitches on her face and had cuts on her leg, but otherwise was OK.

“Angels were watching over the Hatton-Northwood girls volleyball team,” the mother said in her Facebook post.

This story was originally published September 15, 2023 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Bus transporting school volleyball team involved in fatal crash, North Dakota cops say."