BU Athletes Home after Puerto Rico Road Accident
Swim, dive team members suffer minor injuries after bus loses control
Four Boston University students suffered mild concussions and lower back injuries Friday, January 16, when a bus carrying the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams and their coaches was involved in a minor accident in Mayaguez, on Puerto Rico’s west coast, where they spent their 10-day annual winter training trip.
The teams were traveling in two buses, heading back at about 7 p.m. from practice at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez to the Rincon Beach Resort. “Half of our team and some coaches were on one bus and about 27 were on the other bus, which was involved in the accident,” said Bill Smyth, BU swim and dive head coach. “We were headed back from practice to the hotel on a route we’d taken every day, twice a day, when one of the buses skidded, and then dipped as the driver tried to regain the bus’s bearing,” said Smyth, who was on the other bus. “The buses got separated at a traffic light and when we caught up with them the first bus was stopped in the middle of the road at an angle, and we ran up to make sure everybody was okay.”
Smyth said there were no other cars involved, but a number of the passengers, particularly those in the back seats, were jostled, and several students were taken off the bus on stretchers. Four were transported to Mayaguez Hospital, said Smyth. “Coaching staff were with them the entire time, and two student athletes translated from English to Spanish,” he said. The hospitalized students were released Saturday morning and everybody arrived in Boston that night, says Smyth, who described the injuries as some lower back injuries, bruises, and a few minor concussions.
“People were understandably upset, but looking back, we got lucky,” said Smyth.
Drew Marrochello, BU director of athletics, was in constant contact with the coaches Saturday as they worked to get the teams home safely, he said. The group returned to San Juan on Saturday by bus and were on a 5:45 p.m. flight to Boston, where their physical and mental conditions were assessed by BU Athletics sports medicine staff. Students suffering injuries will be sidelined for varying amounts of time.
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