Photo - Dubuque Athletics
It was a situation that could have ended up much much worse, but thanks to the quick actions of one individual, it did not. According to information from the Trigg County Sheriff’s Department, a Windstar bus carrying members of the University of Dubuque women’s basketball team was traveling westbound through Trigg County on Interstate 24 Sunday morning, on their way back to Iowa, when the driver of the team bus experienced a medical issue.
The bus swerved to the left of the interstate striking a guardrail. However, before the incident was able to escalate, Coach Justin Smith, who investigators say had been sleeping on the bus, was able to take action that enabled him to get the bus stopped before anyone was injured.
Emergency personnel arrived on the scene, and the driver was transported to Lourdes Hospital in Paducah.
The team was on their way back to their home campus after playing Friday and Saturday in a tournament in Nashville.
Trigg County Deputy Jared Werner called Smith a hero for his quick actions that may have kept the incident from ending up serious. No one aboard the bus was injured in the crash, which occurred near the 60 mile marker, around 9:14am.
Coach Smith is in his first season as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, having just taken the position in June 2017.
