CLICK THE AUDIO BUTTON TO HEAR JACK HALL'S INTERVIEW WITH ESKYMO COACH TRACY HUDSON
The Escanaba High School girls JV and varsity basketball teams are recovering after a harrowing experience after its games Tuesday night in Marquette.
The bus carrying both teams was on its way home when it got into sudden icy conditions on Highway M-553 near the Marquette County Fairgrounds. The crash that followed is going to be felt for a long time.
Longtime Escanaba basketball coach and teacher Tracy Hudson opened up to RRN News Wednesday night, describing the accident and its effect on him, and his players.
“It could have been so much worse,” Hudson said. “A lot of our girls are banged up, coaches, the bus driver. We're just so thankful that somebody is watching over us, and we were able to everybody home safe. Just very traumatic mentally for our girls, and for our coaches.”
The icy conditions seemed to come out of nowhere.
Escanaba Superintendent Coby Fletcher sent out a statement on Wednesday to explain to the community how things went, and the decisions that were made.
“Winter travel decisions during the athletic season can be challenging, particularly given changing local conditions and the long distances teams travel across the Upper Peninsula,” the statement read, in part. “When making these decisions, athletic directors collaborate and consider current and forecast conditions. At 6:17 p.m., the National Weather Service Marquette office indicated a chance of light freezing rain and snow, with impacts expected to be minimal and short-lived.”
And so, the team continued coming home after the games. But Hudson says that on that bus, what they experienced, was not “minimal” nor “short-lived”.
“It was kind of a flash-freeze. We were coming down Marquette Mountain (on M-553), and we were a little worried because it was about 32 degrees,” Hudson said. “We stopped at the Kwik Trip at the Crossroads (between Marquette and Gwinn), and when we left the Crossroads, we were going about 45, and all of a sudden, we started sliding.”
“We were going left, and he (bus driver) was trying to keep it on the road.,” Hudson continued. “I sat in the front seat, and when you start sliding, and you're going from left to right, and you can see on-coming traffic, and you're sliding sideways, and you're afraid of a head-on collision. We were sliding down the road, and then when you finally hit the ditch, roll, it's just scary, and you're worried about everybody's safety. Is everybody OK? That just keeps replaying in your mind.”
Hudson says that going into the ditch alongside 553 was actually a “blessing” because the five-to-six-foot snow banks prevented the bus from catapulting into the trees farther off of the road. He says the bus then rolled over onto its side.
“At that point, it's communicating with your girls, making sure everybody's okay, trying to get out, calling your administrators, calling 911,” Hudson said. “The first responders were great. It was so traumatic for the girls. Just a lot of emotions.”
According to the Marquette County Sheriff's Department, there were a total 19 people on the bus. Two girls, aged 17 and 18, were taken to UP Health System-Marquette for treatment, and two others were treated at the scene.
“They all got home at about 4 a.m. (Wednesday),” Hudson said. “One had a chest X-Ray, and one, Ella Johnson, had a concussion. Landry Bray had a pretty nasty bump on her head. Most of the girls have been resting, and some were able to go out and talk a little about it. It's traumatic when you're going down the middle of a road, in a big bus, and you can't control it. And you're rolling over. He wasn't speeding. We just hit some ice!”
And how is Hudson doing?
“Sore,” Hudson admitted Wednesday night. “I wasn't real sore last night. But I woke up (Wednesday) and my leg and my hip...that's kind of like like with a lot of the girls. They felt a lot of it afterwards, when they woke up this morning. We've got some with black eyes and one who we thought had a broken nose. For the most part, the girls are sore. But we're just so thankful that someone was watching down on us.”
Hudson says that some other schools were considering helping by sending buses, but the conditions were so bad that they couldn't. So, some of the girls' parents came to the scene in private vehicles to pick up the girls.
A Negaunee bus driver did come to help.
“He got the coaches and the bus driver as far as McFarland,” Hudson said. “Then our principal, Andy Doutree, and Scott Peterson, took us the rest of the way with a van. It was very slow going because it was very icy. The UP is a small-knit group and everyone tries to help and everyone cares and so many were reaching out, a lot of schools.”
The official statement from Fletcher also expressed thanks.
“We are thankful for the calm and professionalism demonstrated by our student-athletes and staff during this incident, and we appreciate the assistance provided by the parents and first responders at the scene.”
The Eskymos are 0-6 on the season, and they are scheduled to travel back to Marquette County this Friday night to play the Gwinn Model Towners.
“We'll assess that,” Hudson said. “We're not in the physical shape to do it. I mean, we'll probably do a walk-through (practice) and shoot around, but we've just got to see where the girls are at, physically. They're pretty beat-up mentally. I'll sit down with the administration and my athletic director tomorrow (Thursday).”
Hudson summed it up the best he could.
“We're banged up, but we're gonna be all right.”
