According to the report, two passengers were ejected from the bus and trapped under the vehicle. Evans and others in the van rushed to their aid, trying to pull teammates out of the bus.

Some used a hole that was ripped in the top of the bus to climb out. Others used the emergency door, which was kicked out, to escape.

One of the many injured was Witzke, who suffered a concussion along with some bumps, bruises and two black eyes. He was hurt so much that he isn’t even entirely sure if he was thrown from the vehicle or not.

But one thing he clearly recalls is getting away from the bus and seeing the damage.

“I remember being terrified to go see what the inside looked like,” Witzke said.

The scene was haunting and horrific. Holcomb, who was knocked out from the crash, remembers regaining consciousness and seeing blood everywhere.

Timm spotted his roommate Jaxon Hermann, a right-handed pitcher for the Lakers. Hermann was conscious but looked lost in the moment. It took several minutes for him to get his surroundings straight.

It was later revealed that Hermann suffered four fractured vertebrae, a spinal bruise, a lacerated spleen, partially collapsed lungs, a large laceration on his elbow and two areas of bleeding on his brain.

Then there was Johnson. When his teammates spotted him, they began performing CPR. Holcomb, the first to discover him, knew it was helpless as soon as he checked his pulse.

“There was nothing,” Holcomb said.

Medical personnel who rushed to the scene tried in vain to save him. Johnson was just 19.

All 33 passengers on the bus were transported to hospitals throughout the state. Two were taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines and 10 were taken to UnityPoint Health Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge.

The other remaining passengers went to area hospitals for evaluation. For many of them, it’s still a blur. But what they do remember, teammates and coaches hurt and one dead, haunts them.

“It’s something I never want to see again,” Holcomb said.

What’s next? The Lakers decide to play and honor their late teammate

About two weeks after the crash, the Iowa Lakes baseball team gathered for a meeting. The topic was the remainder of the season. The Lakers had lost Johnson and several other key members who were expected to miss the rest of the season with their injuries.

Could they go on? Should they?

Witzke had given the team some time off to be with family and not think about baseball. When they gathered again in the school’s auditorium, coaches handed out pens and paper and put it to a vote.

Witzke had players write down their names on the ballots, but only for him and administrators to see, so he could know if certain players needed more time. Outside of those players, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of taking the field again this season.

Not everyone agreed. But Johnson was a huge factor in the decision of the players who did want to return.

“I think in the end we all kind of agreed that we wanted to out and honor him and play for him,” Evans said.

The decision to come back this season wasn’t easy. But some of the pressure was relieved when the team made the trip to South Dakota for Johnson’s funeral. Johnson’s parents picked out a blue casket with a bronze baseball and glove on it. They bought plots for the entire family at a cemetery that Johnson drove by every day for baseball practice.

At the funeral, his dad spoke to the team and urged them to play. Jeff Johnson figured that’s what his son would want. Besides, he didn’t want the players’ lives to be defined by the wreck and the death of “Tater.” He thought playing would help them think about his son.

“I want them to remember ‘Tater’ for the good times that they had,” Jeff Johnson said.

When the team eventually returned to practice, there were reminders of the accident everywhere. Carter Johnson was gone. So were many other players still recovering from the crash. Only some of the team’s pitchers and a handful of position players were there.

Witzke kept things simple that night, going through the basics with some light drills as the team tried to get back on its feet. The hope was that it could be helpful for the mind, body and spirit after all they’d been through. But baseball could only help so much.

“The first practice was a little awkward,” Witzke said.

Every day has gotten a little bit better. More and more players have joined. Still, the team isn’t at full strength and won’t ever be this season, with Witzke expecting several players to miss the rest of the campaign. One they’ll never get back is Johnson.

While Johnson isn’t around anymore, he’s still with them in spirit. The team and the school plan to honor him throughout the season. Players said they will write his name on their hats or tape for games. Iowa Lakes has already announced a scholarship in Johnson’s name.

Witzke said the school is retiring his No. 8 and will have a plaque put in honoring him at the field. The coach added that Bud’s Cafe, a favorite stomping ground for Johnson, will name an item on the menu after him.

Johnson’s parents are making sure he’s never forgotten either. The morning of the team’s first game back on March 13 in Minnesota, Jeff Johnson got on his son’s phone and pull up the app the Lakers use to communicate. He wrote out a message telling them he loved them and urged them to play for his son.

“Hopefully that gave them some inspiration,” Jeff Johnson said.

The wounds are still fresh. Jeff Johnson planned to fly to Minnesota to surprise the team before their first game. At the last minute, he decided not to due to severe weather. His wife was driving another one of their sons to a hockey game in North Dakota.

The thought of another accident and possibly losing them terrified Jeff. So he stayed back and made the drive with them. Instead of attending the game, he watched from home on his phone. Midway through, he ventured to the cemetery and sat next to his son’s grave, holding up the phone for him to see.

The Iowa Lakes team is still grieving. There are constant reminders of the crash and Johnson. His absence and the absences of others at practices are impossible to miss.

Getting back on a bus for the first time following the accident wasn’t easy. For many of them, the trip to Carter Johnson’s funeral was the first. But there will be more. Witzke addressed it all with them early on.

“Coach made a good point here a few weeks ago that ‘If you want to continue your collegiate career or really doing anything in life, you’re going to have to ride a bus,’” Holcomb said.

Some of the emotional scars from that tragic day will never heal. The memories are impossible to forget. Baseball has been a welcome distraction, but it can only do so much.

Now that the Lakers are playing games, that may help as well. Despite some missing pieces to the player puzzle, Witzke still believes his team can accomplish big things. They certainly have some extra motivation for the remainder of the season.

They are playing for Johnson and the other teammates who can’t take the field. Some players have yet to return to campus, but they have stayed in touch and vowed to continue the season and find ways to get through it.

Together.

“Everybody says family,” Witzke said. “Everybody says brother in this world, in the athletic world. This year and especially after the crash, we felt it more than ever.”

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.