The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is releasing more information about a school bus crash that injured members of the Minco High School girls’ softball team and their coaches on Monday night.
According to investigators, the crash occurred just before 8 p.m. as the team was returning home from a game in Anadarko. Troopers say the driver swerved to avoid a deer on Highway 152, causing the bus to roll approximately nine miles west of Minco.
OHP says at least seven students and coaches were injured in the crash. Several remain hospitalized, but all are expected to survive.
Julie Bilderback’s daughter Presley, a sophomore on the team, was on the bus. She rushed to the scene and described it as a “war zone.”
“It was awful, my worst nightmare, any parent’s worst nightmare,” Bilderback said. “Girls were moaning, screaming, crying. They were covered in blood. The coaches were down and in pretty bad shape.”
Bilderback said she was alerted to the crash through the family’s Life360 tracking app, which also notified 911.
“It was able to call 911, the firefighters, and the ambulances to the scene,” she said. “I’ve never seen such a great response.”
She said Presley was one of two passengers who were not ejected from the bus, but was still injured.
“She’s hurting pretty bad, she’s shaken up, bruised, and in a lot of pain,” Bilderback said. “But she’s doing better than a few of the other girls.”
Classes were canceled on Tuesday to allow students, families, and the community to begin the healing process. School is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
Homecoming events planned for this week have been postponed to a later date, as several of the girls involved are members of the homecoming court.
Despite the injuries and trauma, Bilderback said she’s grateful her daughter and others survived.
“God had his hand and his protection on these girls and these coaches,” she said. “We love our softball family. We love our coaches.”