Police ID Victim in Fatal SUV-Football Team Bus Crash

Authorities identified the sole victim of the fatal Pennsylvania wreck between a bus carrying a high school football team and an SUV.

Jasmine McCarter, 23, was not wearing her seat belt when she crossed the grass median on Route 30 and slammed head-on into the bus traveling in the opposite direction. McCarter was ejected from her car on impact, according to the York County Coroner, CBS reported.

McCarter died on the scene after she was ejected from her Ford Explorer, Penn Live reported. She was the sole person inside the SUV, according to the coroner. Authorities said there will be no autopsy.

The tour bus carried a team of 21 Eastern High School football players, their three coaches, an athletic trainer, and the driver. The team was on its way back home from a game in Martinsburg.

“The bus was literally seconds away from getting off the highway,” said Hellam Township Police Chief Doug Pollock, YDR reported.

The bus driver and two of the coaches were rushed to local hospitals. One coach was taken to York Hospital and the rest were taken to Lancaster General Hospital. All were seated at the front of the bus when the crash happened.

The bus driver had to be cut out of the bus. The coaches were treated for minor injuries and released. The driver was at the hospital as of Saturday afternoon, Oct. 28. None of the players were injured.

Police in Hellam Township are investigating the crash.

The crash occurred at around 1 a.m. on Route 30 between the Burgs Lane overpass and the Wrightsville exit. The bus was operated by Krapf Bus Company, which the school district contracts.

The impact of the crash caved in the bus so the students had to be evacuated through the windows.

Officers who searched the SUV said there was nothing suspicious inside to indicate that alcohol or drugs were involved.

Two Pennsylvania state troopers spotted McCarter’s SUV when it drove westbound but say she was not speeding or driving erratically.

The school district plan to have a crisis team in place at Eastern York High School Monday “for any students, parents or staff who may need assistance,” according to a news release.

“We thank the emergency responders and district staff for immediately responding and taking care of our students and staff,” the statement from the school district reads. “The Eastern York Board of School directors, administration, faculty and staff extend our deepest sympathy to the family of the deceased driver who collided with the bus.”

The school district is cooperating with police as the investigation continues.

The bus was minutes from home when sophomore linebacker Eliot Whiteside heard a loud bang and the squeal of brakes. Moments later he could smell the brakes.

The state’s department of transportation said it has a video of the crash, but that it is dark and tough to see. The bus had six cameras onboard, the footage from which may reveal the cause of the crash.

Route 30 was closed in both directions for about 5 hours, reopening at around 6 a.m.

From NTD.tv