Elizabethton Twins Bus Involved in Crash

There’s a saying that nothing good can happen when you’re out and about after 2 am. It primarily applies to the shenanigans that occur when you’re in high school and college, but at 4:25 am Tuesday morning it applied to the Elizabethon Twins as they were traveling from Fort Myers Florida to Elizabethton, Tennessee.

On Interstate 295 near Jacksonville the E-Twins’ bus, loaded with 35 players and staff, was stuck by a car traveling south in the northbound lane. No one on the bus suffered any injuries but given the nature of the head on collision, the driver of the car was killed. By the accounts that have been published the driver of the Twins bus did his best to pull over before being struck but could not avoid the collision.

Little is known about the driver of the vehicle, a black Honda, aside from the facts that he was in his mid-20s and died at the scene. Additional details, including whether or not alcohol, drugs or simple fatigue played any part in the young man driving the wrong way on the interstate, have yet to be made public. Regardless of the cause, it’s an unfortunate tragedy and thoughts and condolences go out to the family of the deceased.

As far as baseball is concerned, this could be an inauspicious start to the team’s 2013 season if you’re inclined to believe in signs. The team was heading to Elizabethton to prepare for their season opener on Thursday against the Bristol White Sox. After transferring their gear to another bus, there were able to complete their journey though the events of Tuesday morning will surely stick with the team for quite some time.

MiLB.com published the most comprehensive piece I’ve come across on this story.