A bus carrying 27 Griffith boys basketball players, coaches and staff traveling to the Class 3A Lafayette Jefferson Semistate game overturned on Interstate 65 near the 230-mile marker, north of Rensselaer, authorities said.
The crash occurred after noon Saturday, according to the Indiana State Police.
David Garrett, the school’s freshman coach, was airlifted to the University of Chicago hospital.
Twenty of the 27 passengers on the bus — six adults and 21 students — were taken by Kankakee Valley School Corporation bus and ambulance to Jasper County Hospital/Franciscan Health Rensselaer, where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The bus driver, a 54-year-old woman, and one of the coaches were taken by ambulance to Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, Ill., with non-life-threatening injuries.
Methodist Hospital Southlake in Merrillville received one adult and three students, all with non-life-threatening injuries.
Griffith coach Gary Hayes said senior forward Tremell Murphy and senior guard Martin Schiele were among those taken to Merrillville.
“It’s amazing nobody got killed,” Hayes said. “Amazing. Amazing.”
Evelyn Morrison, spokeswoman for Methodist Hospitals, said Methodist Southlake in Merrillville received four people — two 18-year-olds, an 8-year-old and a 28-year-old — injured in the crash.
“They are in stable condition,” Morrison said.
Indiana State Police said the driver of a 2001 Kia passenger car, a 23-year-old female from Terre Haute, was southbound on I-65 when the lid of her drink came off and she spilled the contents. When she attempted to grab the drink, she sideswiped the school bus in the right lane. The bus went off the road to the west and rolled over.
The driver of the Kia and her passenger were taken to Jasper County Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“Somebody hit us from the side,” Hayes said. “The bus driver tried to get us on route, and it looked like we might be able to swing it. Then we took a second knock, we rolled once, then flipped into the ditch. The roof was halfway to the floor.”
Griffith principal Brian Orkis said it was “too early” to determine the status of the game between Griffith, 25-3, and Marion, 21-7, which had been scheduled for 3 p.m. A spot in the state championship game is at stake.
IHSAA and Griffith officials were expected to meet Sunday to discuss a potential make-up date.
“We’re extremely grateful as a school and a school community that it happened the way it did right now,” said Orkis, flanked by assistant principal Dustin Nelson and athletics director Stacy Adams. “It could’ve been a lot worse.
“We could be grieving now. We thank everyone who has communicated their thoughts and prayers not only to the team, but to the school community. We ask that they continue to do so.”
Indiana High School Athletic Association Commissioner Bobby Cox said on IHSAA TV that a rescheduled game likely would have to be played Tuesday.
“They are going to have to make a determination of whether they are going to continue in the tournament or not,” Cox said.
“It’s a scary day,” Cox said. “We are glad there was no life threatening injuries. The players by and large had some bumps and bruises. It could’ve been a whole lot worse.”
Griffith superintendent Peter Morikis issued a statement.
“Our hearts are heavy,” he said. “What began with excitement — as the fulfillment of a dream to play in the semistate tournament — has ended tragically. We are praying for the members of our Griffith school family who have been injured.”
Traffic on I-65 came to a standstill for about an hour before traffic began flowing again with the overturned and smashed bus still in the ditch.
Cody Tippit, 16, said he was lying in bed in his home in the Candlelight subdivision in Roselawn when he heard a loud crash. The subdivision is nestled between County Line Road to the west and I-65 to the east.
“I was in bed,” Tippit said. “I looked out my window, all I saw was smoke. I told my dad there was a wreck outside. I went out and jumped the fence, my dad grabbed towels. People were all hurt and cut up.”
The teen said he and his father, Chris, immediately began helping people out of the bus during the chaos.
“We were just helping them get out, grabbing their hands,” Cody Tippit said. “I jerked the door open.
“It was a lot of teamwork. Everybody was helping everyone. Some people were crying. Some were screaming. Some were laying on the ground holding their legs.”
Many of the passengers were bloodied and banged up, Cody Tippit said. One teen had a towel over his face and was bleeding badly. Another person had a brace on his neck.
Tippit said he has seen at least three crashes on that stretch of highway from his home, but nothing previously was this bad.
“I was just thinking, ‘Is this really happening right now?’ I was shocked,” he said.
Griffith resident Richard Leber said he and his family were heading to Lafayette for the game when they came upon slowed traffic about a half-mile north of the DeMotte exit. By the time they passed the scene, everyone appeared to be off the badly damaged bus.
“The road was closed down, and people were being transported by ambulance,” Leber said.
Hayes suffered a cut on his head.
“Everyone has something,” he said.
Carrie Napoleon and Michelle Quinn are freelance writers for the Post-Tribune.
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff