Iowa Lakes OF Carter Johnson died in bus crash, police say

Carter Johnson, a 19-year-old member of the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team, was identified Thursday as the victim in a bus crash that injured 32 others a day earlier, police said.

According to the school’s website, Johnson was a freshman outfielder who had appeared in one game this season for Iowa Lakes after a high school career at Rapid City Stevens in South Dakota.

“Carter was a great teammate, a friend and a valued member of our athletic community,” athletic director Troy Larson said in a news conference Thursday. “In his time here he really impacted our campus, both within our halls and the classrooms, as well as on the playing field. We’re heartbroken for this tragedy.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Carter’s family. Cannot imagine the depth of their loss. And we are holding them close in our hearts.”

The bus carrying the school’s baseball team crashed and overturned in a ditch on Iowa Highway 4 near Twin Lakes, about 110 miles northwest of Des Moines, on Wednesday morning.

Iowa State Patrol Lt. Aaron Schmidt said Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. He added that when officials arrived at the crash site, student-athletes who had been on a van behind the bus were performing CPR on Johnson.

Three others were airlifted to trauma hospitals in Des Moines, officials said Wednesday, and others were taken by ambulance to four hospitals in the area. There were no updates Thursday on their conditions.

The Lakers (1-3) had been scheduled to play at North Arkansas College starting Thursday, but all four games were canceled.