Baseball coach injured in Virginia bus crash carrying Quebec students

A baseball coach suffered serious injuries after the bus he was on, along with students from the Marie-Rivier High School in Drummondville, drove off the road and crashed in Virginia.

Virginia state police said that officers responded to the call shortly before 3 a.m. on Saturday morning about the crash on Interstate 95 near the four-mile maker.

Riverains du Sport-etudes de Marie-Rivier coach Mathieu Adam posted a statement about the crash on the Baseball CDQ Facebook page.

He said most of the Sec 3, 4, and 5 student-athletes and four coaches left Drummondville, Quebec on Friday for a baseball training camp in Florida.

"Unfortunately, in the early hours of the morning, the bus veered off the road and came to a standstill on the shoulder of a highway in Virginia," he wrote." In the accident, our coach and friend Yannick MVP Powers suffered serious injuries, including his right leg, and had to be rushed to the hospital."

Mathieu Audet is an administrator with Baseball Centre-du-Quebec and has been in contact with the coaches on the trip as well as many parents. He said Powers will be in the hospital for about a week in Virginia.

"He was in the front of the bus, so maybe he was more impacted by the accident," said Audet. "He is a young coach and is very well known in Drummondville. He's the kind of coach that everyone loves to be with. He's very passionate and a full-time coach so he's always with the kids... It's super sad that it's happening to him."

Audet said services will be available for the students when they return to Quebec on Sunday night.

"Fortunately, Yannick was the only one seriously injured in this accident," wrote Adam. "All the athletes were quickly taken care of and safely taken to a nearby hotel where the four coaches in the other car could join them and exchange their experiences."

On Sunday morning, all the students were sent back to Quebec on another bus, and parents have been in contact with the coaching staff, Adam wrote.

Adam said he will remain in Virginia with Powers.