Teammates ‘Heartbroken’ After College Baseball Player, 19, Dies in Bus Crash

Tragedy has rocked the heart of a small college community after a 19-year-old baseball player was killed in a devastating bus crash while traveling to a game.

Carter Johnson, a freshman at Iowa Lakes Community College, died Wednesday morning when the team’s bus overturned on an Iowa highway as they headed to Arkansas for a weekend series.

The crash happened just after 11 a.m. on Feb. 11 along Highway 4 near Twin Lakes, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The bus, carrying more than two dozen athletes and staff members, reportedly veered off the road when the 74-year-old driver overcorrected while attempting to return to his lane. The vehicle then rolled into a ditch.

Johnson, who was from South Dakota, was identified as the player who lost his life in the wreck. Authorities say two passengers were ejected during the crash and became trapped beneath the bus when it came to a stop.

In a desperate attempt to save their teammate, classmates traveling in a van behind the bus rushed to the scene and performed CPR on Johnson. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Images from the aftermath showed the Iowa Lakes team bus lying on its side in a ditch, the front end visibly damaged before it was eventually towed away.

The crash injured the other 32 people on board, though the extent of their injuries has not been fully detailed.

Iowa Lakes Community College’s athletic director, Troy Larson, shared an emotional statement following the tragedy.

“Carter was a great teammate, a friend, and a valued member of our athletic community,” Larson said. “We’re heartbroken for this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Carter’s family. We cannot imagine the depth of their loss, and we are holding them close in our hearts.”

The team had been en route to face North Arkansas College in Harrison, Arkansas. In a statement posted to Facebook, North Arkansas College president Dr. Rick Massengale said the loss “reaches far beyond one campus.”

As teammates, coaches, and families grapple with the unimaginable loss, the tight-knit baseball community is left mourning a young life cut tragically short on what should have been just another road trip.