All 34 players, coaches, and staff members of the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins were safe Tuesday after their bus crashed head on with a car driving the wrong way on an interstate highway in Jacksonville, Fla., killing the driver of the car.
The Twins believe the wreck could have been much worse but for the skill of the bus driver, identified by Jacksonville television station WJXT as Philip Garypie.
"Every indication is that the bus driver did a heck of a job" to keep the bus from rolling over in the highway median, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. The bus was headed from the Twins' camp in Fort Myers to Elizabethton, where the Twins rookies are scheduled to open their Appalachian League season Thursday.
Twins third base coach Joe Vavra got a 3:30 a.m. phone call from his son, Tanner, the Twins' 30th-round draft pick last week. Tanner Vavra told his father that Garypie did all he could to avoid a collision with a Honda that was driving south in the northbound lanes of I-295.
"They had just changed drivers 15 minutes earlier. They were passing a semi on the interstate and got to the top of a hill, when here comes this car, coming right at them," Vavra recounted of his phone call with his son. Both vehicles swerved into the median in an effort to avoid a collision. "The bus driver [yelled] 'Brace yourself,' and [Tanner] got down. [After the impact], the driver got the bus under control and pulled to the side."
The driver of the car, identified by WJTX as Corshane Brown, 28, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's tragic. You've got to feel for any family that loses a loved one," Ryan said.
Hicks' hamstring better
Aaron Hicks, who went on the disabled list June 10 because of a strained left hamstring, took early batting practice Tuesday and shagged fly balls in the outfield. "He's doing fine," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Says his leg feels better."