The Lincoln Pius X Catholic High School girls' soccer team's trip to North Platte May 5 didn't go quite as planned.
The Thunderbolts lost their district finals game 3-0 that evening, but getting to the game in the first place proved to be a challenge.
At about 2 p.m. near mile marker 388 on Interstate 80, by the Pleasant Dale exit, the team's charter bus was rear-ended by a minivan. The Seward County Sheriff's Office reported the driver of the van was a 62-year-old man and former law enforcement officer from California.
The drivers of the minivan and the bus were taken to Bryan West, but everyone else on the bus was uninjured. The sheriff's office also said that deputies located $570,000 in suspected drug money inside the minivan. The crash is under further investigation.
Thunderbolts coach Steve Andersen said that the event was quite a shock to the players and provided an unexpected detour to the already long drive from Lincoln to North Platte.
“We were just slowing down to traffic when it went to one lane and we were pretty much at a complete stop,” he said. “All of a sudden, pow, a car plowed into the back of us and jostled us around a bit.
“This isn't what we anticipated. Luckily we had about an hour window slow drive time planned in, so we're still on schedule.”
Andersen said that the team was still excited to compete, but to get them ready for the match after would take a little bit more encouragement than normal.
“I would like to say we practiced this last night, but you can't practice this,” he said. “We're just going to have to get into that locker room, refocus, say a quick prayer and head out onto that pitch and let good things happen to us.”
