3 Murray St softball players hurt in bus crash in Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Three players were injured when the chartered bus carrying the Murray State softball team was involved in a two-vehicle crash on the way to the NCAA Tournament in Alabama, police said.

Murray State athletic director Kevin Saal said during a news conference Thursday the three had injuries that weren’t life threatening after the accident Wednesday. The school noted that others aboard were safe and unharmed.

“We communicated immediately with the student-athletes’ families and loved ones just to make sure they were aware that everyone was safe,” he added. The school conducted a virtual meeting earlier Thursday with the families.

Murray State (40-16-1) won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament last week to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth. The third-seeded Racers are scheduled to face No. 2 seed Stanford on Friday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the double-elimination event.

Coach Kara Admunson said the support has been “incredible,” adding that one player received flowers from her hometown church.

“Obviously this has kind of been a storybook year for us, winning our first regular-season championship, our first conference championship, having a 40-win season,” the coach added. “So when you are writing our storybook, what happened yesterday isn’t a part of it.”

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) said its Highway Patrol Division responded to an accident Wednesday on State Road 13 in Fayette County between a commercial vehicle and the Racers’ chartered bus carrying 26 passengers.

The three injured players were taken to DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa for treatment, police said.

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