Tragedy strikes as bus carrying football players crashes leaving 4 dead and several injured

Four people have died and dozens injured after a bus carrying a South Carolina football team crashed in North Carolina.

The team was traveling from Rock Hill, South Carolina, to play a tournament at Fayetteville, North Carolina, when it hit an overpass bridge on the Highway bypass near the city of Hamlet.

A preliminary investigation shows the front left tire of the bus blew, causing the bus to travel out of control into the median, the Highway Patrol said. The bus struck the median guardrail before sideswiping a concrete bridge column. It continued a short distance before coming to a stop.

Four people in the bus were killed and 42 others on the bus were taken to area hospitals. The injuries range from minor to critical.

Initial reports said the team was from the Ramah Jucco Academy in Rock Hill, but the Highway Patrol said the majority of the passengers were from Clinton College, also in Rock Hill. The patrol said it was unclear if they played for an off-campus football team.