4 Female College Students Killed in Bus Crash

A tractor-trailer crossed a southern Oklahoma highway median and plowed into the side of a college softball team's bus, killing four women on the team and injuring more than a dozen others, authorities said. The collision involving the North Central Texas College team happened about 9pm yesterday on Interstate 35 south of Davis, which is about 70 miles south of Oklahoma City and 60 miles north of Gainesville, Texas, where the school is located. The team was heading home from a scrimmage against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, reports the Oklahoman.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton said the semi crossed the median and veered into the southbound lanes, striking the bus. He said three women from the team died at the scene and a fourth died at a hospital in nearby Sulphur. Authorities didn't identify any of the victims. Hampton said the team's coach, who was driving the bus, declined treatment at the scene and escaped without serious injury. He said 15 other bus passengers were hurt, as was the driver of the tractor-trailer, who was expected to survive. The cause of the crash will likely be under investigation for weeks. (More North Central Texas College stories.)