BILLINGS — The Montana State University Billings community is rallying around its cross country team this week after a serious van crash in Washington state left six athletes injured.
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According to Dan Carter, the university’s director of communications and marketing, the accident happened Friday night outside Dusty, Wash., on a two-lane highway. Three vans and one SUV were traveling together with 20 members, including both the men's and women's teams and the coaching staff, to a meet at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Carter said one of the vans veered off the road with a narrow shoulder and no rumble strip, and hit a paved driveway area.
The van held six athletes, with all sustaining injuries, including concussions. Two were airlifted due to the severity of their injuries. All but one have returned home as of Monday morning, according to Carter, as one athlete is receiving further care at a Spokane-area hospital.
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The crash left those back on campus shaken, especially the tight-knit sports community. Many of the student-athletes heard about the crash from their coaches.
“I was kind of just shocked. I didn't really honestly believe it at first,” said junior Layla Baumann, a player on the MSU Billings women’s basketball team. “I was glad to hear that everyone was still doing okay for the most part and just that we didn't have any huge losses or anything because I think that would have just been super detrimental to our program.”
Bauman said basketball is one of the few sports that travel mainly by plane, but due to smaller numbers, teams travel long distances by van, usually driven by coaches.
Others worried about the team's travel.
“It's wild to think that these teams are so small that you're taking vans to go to your meets that are in Walla Walla, Washington,” said sophomore Aidan Johnson, a cheerleader and track and field athlete.
After hearing about the accident, Johnson was worried about his own friend who runs on the team.
“I didn't know exactly if he had gotten injured or who had gotten injured. I just kind of found out today about that, and I'm just so glad everyone is OK,” said Johnson. “All I remember is just thinking, man, that really could be anyone on any day, and you just have to put prayers up for all the people who were hospitalized and honestly everybody on the entire team.”
Carter told MTN that the invitational meet scheduled for Friday at Amend Park will still go on, and MSUB will compete with a limited roster.
School officials said they are focusing on the athletes' recovery moving forward. For the athletes, they hope the team can continue to heal after a difficult and traumatic time.
“I just want the cross-country team to know that we'll be keeping them in our prayers and hope that everything just settles out well for them,” said Baumann.
