Oklahoma school bus carrying softball team crashes and injures 7 people

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MINCO, Okla. (AP) — A school bus carrying softball team members in Oklahoma crashed into a deer and overturned, ejecting some passengers and injuring seven people, the state highway patrol said.

The crash happened Monday night on U.S. Highway 152 near Minco in Grady County, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Oklahoma City.

One adult who was ejected from the bus remained in critical condition Tuesday morning, and four students were listed in stable condition, Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart said. A total of 17 passengers were on the bus when it overturned, OHP Lt. Mark Southall said. The OHP initially reported eight people were injured in the crash, but later revised that number to seven. Southall said some students on the bus were transported from the scene by their parents before troopers arrived.

The scene was cleared around midnight and an investigation into what caused the crash continues, Southall said. The patrol is working with the National Transportation Safety Board, he said.

The driver's seat was the only one on the bus equipped with a seat belt, Minco Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Sims said.

School was closed Tuesday, Sims posted online.

“Please keep these student-athletes, coaches and their families in your prayers,” he said.

U.S. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma posted online that he and his wife, Cindy, “join all of Oklahoma in praying for our neighbors in Minco tonight.”

The Minco First Baptist Church in the town of about 1,500 people posted online that the church sanctuary was open “if you would like to come and pray.”

The softball team was scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Monday at the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Minco, according to school athletic schedules.