Teammates of Carter Johnson, a resident of Rapid City, South Dakota, tried to save his life by performing CPR, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

Those and other details of the devastating crash which also injured 32 people were released Thursday afternoon during a press conference at the college’s Estherville campus.

College President Scott Stokes and Troy Larson, vice president of student affairs and athletic director, thanked Iowans for their support.

“The outpouring of compassion has been very powerful,” Larson said.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Emergency personnel responded to the scene of a bus crash late Wednesday morning on Iowa Highway 4 near Twin Lakes in Calhoun County. One person was killed and 32 were injured when the bus, carrying the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team, went off the road and overturned. The agencies involved included first responders at the state level, three area fire departments, several area EMS and rescue squads, four sheriff's offices and three police departments

“Our baseball team is more than a roster, it’s part of our family,” he said.

The crash happened at 11:06 a.m. on Iowa Highway 4 on a curve known as the Jolley curve for its proximity to the city of that name. The location is about a mile and a half north of U.S. Highway 20.

The 2019 model bus was southbound on the highway with 33 people aboard.

“That bus for unknown reasons went off the road in that curve and went into that ditch,” Lt. Aaron Smidt, commander of Iowa State Patrol District 7, said during the press conference.

He described the crash as “pretty violent.” Two people were thrown out of the bus and were pinned under it.

Smidt said teammates who were in a van following the bus performed CPR on Johnson.

“It’s impressive when you have young student athletes stepping up and performing that kind of action,” he said.

The efforts of the students and emergency medical personnel were unsuccessful and Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash prompted a massive response of law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel from Calhoun, Pocahontas, Sac and Webster counties.

Smidt said four medical helicopters were summoned and three patients were airlifted to hospitals in Des Moines.

The other injured people were taken by ambulance to local hospitals. UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge received 12 of them.

The Jolley curve is an S-curve that has been the site of four deaths in the last 10 years, Smidt said.

Wednesday’s crash remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. The bus was taken to a facility where technical investigators can thoroughly examine it.

The Iowa Lakes baseball team was on its way to a tournament in Arkansas when the crash happened.

“Our hearts are heavy as we grieve alongside the Iowa Lakes college community,” Rick Massengale, the president of North Arkansas College, said in a written statement. ” The loss of a life is a tragedy that reaches far beyond one campus. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the individual who passed away, and we are lifting up in prayer those who were injured and all who are affected.”