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Two Beaumont Westbrook Soccer Players Killed in Bus Crash

2 students killed in Devers-area bus crash

ZEKE MINAYA and CINDY HORSWELL

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Two students were killed when a charter bus carrying a girls' high school soccer team from Beaumont swerved to avoid debris on Highway 90 just east of Devers in Liberty County today, then careened off the road and landed in a ditch.

The West Brook High School soccer team was travelling west to Humble for the make-up date of a previously cancelled playoff game when their bus turned over about 2:30 p.m., authorities said.

Investigators believe that an eastbound pick-up truck hauling a flat bed load of some sort of styrofoam installation lost a bundle on the road, causing the team bus to swerve sharply on the rain-slicked road and then tumble down an embankment, said Tom Vinger, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

"The school bus rolled onto its side and landed in the bar ditch," he said. "The driver of the pick up truck wasn't unaware that he had lost his load."

Investigators do not believe that drugs or alcohol played any part in the accident though the driver of the pick up truck, whose name has not been released, was held for questioning, Vinger said.

The bus was carrying the 22 students, the female bus driver and two school officials accompanying the team, according to according to Crystal Holmes of the Beaumont Police Department.

The team had been scheduled to play Tuesday in a first round playoff game against Houston Lamar, but the game had been rescheduled to today because of rain.

Many of the injured were taken to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. Twelve students with minor injuries were taken to Liberty Dayton Community Hospital.

The two students were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The accident was still under investigation, Holmes said. Traffic heading east and west on Highway 90 was backed up for miles, she said.

Parents of team members have been notified and grief counselors have been dispatched to West Brook High School where many of the teachers said to comfort students at the end of the day, said Jolene Ortego, a Beaumont ISD spokeswoman.

Karen Collier, spokeswoman for Humble ISD, said the Beaumont team was to play Houston-Lamar at Charles St. Stadium, a Humble ISD facility. The game has been canceled, and there's been no discussion about rescheduling, Collier said.

The West Brook girls, who are coached by Rachael Scoggin, had a 15-6-1 record on the season and finished in third place in District 22-5A with a 9-4-1 district mark behind first-place Kingwood and second-place Humble. They are led by senior forward Lauri Thibaut, who signed to play at the University of Texas-El Paso next year. Their opponent, the Lamar Redskins, finished 14-5-2 on the season and were the second-place team in District 21-5A.

"We offer our condolences to the players, their families and the students in the Beaumont Independent School District," Lamar coach Misty Benson said.

Devers is about 60 miles northeast of Houston.

Chronicle reporter Sam Khan Jr. contributed to this story.

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