HAMLET, N.C. (WBTW) – The North Carolina Highway Patrol has identified the four people killed in a bus crash in Richmond County, NC.., on Saturday. The charter bus was carrying a football team from Rock Hill, S.C., to Fayetteville, N.C.
Lt. Jeff Gordon with the N.C. Highway Patrol identified the four people who died as follows:
- Brian Andre Kirkpatrick, 43, of Chester, South Carolina (driver)
- Devonte Gibson, 21, of Rock Hill, South Carolina (passenger)
- Teto Hamilton, 19, of Pahokee, Florida (passenger)
- Darice Hicks, 10, of Rock Hill, South Carolina (passenger)
The bus passengers were from several colleges in the greater Rock Hill, S.C., area, Gordon said in a written statement Sunday morning. They were traveling as members of a football team from Ramah Jucco Academy, and they were headed to play a scheduled game Saturday night against the University of God’s Chosen, based in Raeford, N.C., said Jim Terry, who recruits players for University of God’s Chosen. The game was to be played at Lake Rim Park in Fayetteville, Terry told CBS North Carolina.
The crash at around 2:35 p.m. closed U.S. Highway 74/Interstate 74 until after sunset on Saturday. In addition to the four killed, 42 people were taken to various hospitals. WBTW”s affiliate station CBS North Carolina posted more details on Sunday morning about the status of some of the survivors.
According to a preliminary investigation, the bus was headed east on Highway 74 when the front left tire blew, Gordon said. The tire blowout caused the bus to travel out of control into the highway median where it hit a guardrail before sideswiping a concrete bridge column. The bus continued to travel down the median a relatively short distance before coming to a stop, Gordon said.
