>From: Malamin Johnson <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list              <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: 2 Players dead and 7 Others are Hospitalized >Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 16:02:50 +0000 > >2 Players dead and 7 Others are Hospitalized > > >Associated Press >PARIS, Texas -- Two Navarro College basketball players are dead and >seven >others, including a coach, are hospitalized early Tuesday after a >team van >was hit broadside by a tractor-trailer rig while returning from a >game in >northeast Texas. >Police said a preliminary investigation showed that the drivers of >two team >vans had missed their turns in the journey back to the Corsicana >college and >were attempting to backtrack when the wreck occurred. >The dead were identified as players Pah Sarr, 21, of Gambia, Africa; >and >18-year-old Jason Rashard Trier of Giddings, Texas, Paris Police >Department >spokesman Todd Varner told The Associated Press. >One person was critically injured in the wreck late Monday night on >U.S. >271. Two of the injured were transferred to Dallas hospitals for >treatment >of trauma. >Players were returning in two vans to Corsicana from Paris, where >the team >had played Paris Junior College earlier in the evening. The first >van had >made a U-turn on U.S. 271 just inside the city limits and the driver >of the >second was turning to follow when it was struck by the eastbound >rig, said >Paris Police Department spokesman Todd Varner. >"The second van made a U-turn in front of the 18-wheeler and was hit >broadside," he said. >Justice of the Peace Ernie Sparks pronounced one player dead at the >scene >after the 9:50 p.m. accident and another at Paris Regional Medical >Center at >11:50 p.m. >Sparks said the van, designed to carry 15 passengers, was "busted to >pieces." >"The ones who were in there, I don't know how they survived, but >they >crawled out," Sparks said. "All the windows were gone. It was lying >on its >side with the top side up." >One of the dead was believed to be a freshman. >"It's pretty bad," Navarro Athletic Director Roark Montgomery told >the >Corsicana Daily Sun in Tuesday's online edition. "A manager on the >first bus >called [football coach] Chuck Lawrence about 10 [p.m.] and said the >van >behind them had been hit by a semi." >Varner said that police investigators had not yet been able to >interview all >the vans' drivers and passengers, but a preliminary investigation >showed >that the vehicles had missed a turn on the two-lane highway. >"The second van made a U-turn to follow the first van," he said. >"But that >driver failed to yield to the truck and made an unsafe turn." >He identified the second van's driver as Bilal Batley, a 21-year-old >graduate assistant coach. Coach Lewis Orr and two players were >hospitalized >in serious condition and two other players are in fair condition at >Paris >Regional Medical Center, said Derald Bulls, a marketing director. >Varner said Orr was initially identified as the wrecked van's driver >but >later interviews showed that Batley was at the wheel. He said the >U-turn in >combination with failure to yield to oncoming traffic is a potential >vehicular offense and the case may be reviewed by the county >attorney's >office. >Chris Gonzales, a freshman from Chicago, was airlifted to Parkland >Memorial >Hospital in Dallas, where he was listed in critical condition. >Elijah >Coppock, a sophomore from Columbus, Ga., was flown to Baylor >University >Medical Center in Dallas, where he was admitted in serious >condition. >Police Chief Karl Louis said people in the van that was not involved >in the >wreck were taken to the Paris Junior College student center where >they could >contact relatives. >Paris is about 120 miles northeast of Corsicana and 90 miles >northeast of >Dallas. > >_________________________________________________________________ >Plan your next US getaway to one of the super destinations here. >http://special.msn.com/local/hotdestinations.armx > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the >Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~