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College Baseball Players Killed in Bus Crash; Deadly Tornados Strike Southeast
Aired March 02, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Kyra Phillips is off today.
The unthinkable. A bus full of college football players crashes from an overpass to the highway below. We'll talk to the players who risked their own lives to save others.
LEMON: And the deadly tornados that raked the South. Could more people have been saved? We're live in the hardest hit towns of Enterprise, Alabama, and Americus, Georgia.
You're live, all the information right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: A college road trip takes a tragic turn in Atlanta. A bus carrying a college baseball team from Ohio plunged off an overpass early this morning and fell right onto the interstate below. At least six people are dead. More than two dozen others hurt.
The bus was carrying 35 people, most baseball players from Bluffton University, on their way to a tournament in Sarasota, Florida. We heard from one of the players just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
A.J. RAMTHUN, BLUFFTON BASEBALL PLAYER: I wanted to give my heartfelt -- to the families, to the baseball players involved, my teammates. I understand four of them are deceased, and I just wanted to say -- I just wish there was something I could do, to the families who lost your loved ones.
This is something that's not going to leave the guys who are on that bus this morning. This is going to be with us forever. And we've been living together, practicing together and just -- we've been a family for the past five months and just -- something like this morning really makes you think twice about life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ramthun, a second baseman on the team, says his older brother was trapped underneath the bus. He didn't know for hours whether he would survive. We now know that he did with injuries to his hips. And we'll hear more from A.J. later on in the NEWSROOM. LEMON: Fredricka, of course, the question on everyone's mind, how did this happen? Police say the bus driver may have been confused by how the lanes were divided.
Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: This is I-75 where it happened. You can see that's the HOV lane. One way is the HOV exit-only lane to the right here and then to left is the HOV lane continuing south on I-75.
He came up this ramp, went through the stop sign that you see right here. And then once he got here, it appears he realized, from the skid marks, he realizes from here that he's on the exit ramp and not continuing on the interstate, tries to take a sharp turn this way but couldn't do it in time.
And as you can see from the marks here on the wall, it appears the bus scraped up against this wall. He sheared the top of the fence. And then went over the side.
There's another barricade there that carries some sort of piping from one side of the interstate to the other. He even went over that. And then back onto I-75 southbound.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And we'll continue to follow the story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Now to the storms. AirTran Airways is offering free flights between Ohio and Atlanta to families of those involved in this crash. For more information, call AirTran at 1-800-247-8726. Again, that phone number is 1-800-247-8726. And ask for the Bluffton University coordinator. Again, 1-800-247-8726.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
WHITFIELD: A savage line of storms now moving out to sea, not a second too soon. However, tornados that raked the Midwest and southeast have left at least 20 people dead, including nine in Enterprise, Alabama, where a tornado hit the high school there.
Nine also died in Georgia, where another tornado hit a hospital in Americus, near Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains. We have reporters on the scene. And we'll be going to them all afternoon for updates.
President Bush will tour tornado-stricken areas in Alabama and Georgia tomorrow. And today, he expressed condolences to victims and their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I ask our nation, for those who are prayerful, to give a prayer for the victims of the storms and -- and ask for the blessings that can come upon people and the comfort necessary to deal with the recent tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The worst of the storms took aim at three counties in Georgia and ended nine lives. The small rural town of Americus, population 17,000, took a direct hit, and the hospital there is devastated.
Our Jeanne Meserve joins us now with the latest from Americus -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, two people died in Sumter County, and local residents tell us that they lived down a road over here. We went down a short time ago and looked at the house. It's little more than a slab and a couple of walls. Almost every house down in that neighborhood, very heavily damaged, as are about 200 other homes in this area, according to the sheriff's department.
But homes weren't the only things affected. This is a shopping mall. It was called Marketplace at Americus. There was a nail salon. There was a cable company here. There was a Winn-Dixie supermarket.
We ran into the owner of one of these shops. Her name is Joy Scott. She said she had about $75,000 worth of merchandise in her shop, which sold pool equipment and pocketbooks. She said it looks like it's all gone. But there is one thing she's hoping she can retrieve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY SCOTT, STORE OWNER: Everything we had's gone. Everything's gone, smashed. I just hope we can recover our computer, our hard drive.
MESERVE: Why?
SCOTT: Because it's got our customer list on it. I'm more concerned about my customers than anything, you know. You can replace furniture but those names, those good customers, you can't replace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: And as I was talking to Joy Scott, a UPS truck pulled up to make a delivery to her store, but she doesn't have a store.
There are those kinds of moments often here today in Americus. When we were over at the Sumter Regional Hospital this morning, there was a nurse who came in the parking lot in full uniform, carrying her lunch. She drove in and looked at her hospital and was shocked. It had been destroyed. Windows out. A lot of structural damage.
They evacuated last night the 50 or so patients who were inside. Three of them critical, we're told. Took them to four area hospitals. Did that successfully. But it was a very difficult and dangerous maneuver. And it's going to be a while before that hospital and the rest of this town manages to come back. The damage is quite extreme in some areas.
But as is usual with these case, you'll see something like this and then go a couple of blocks, everything looks absolutely fine. A lot of work here.
Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: That always seems to be the strange pattern of tornados.
Meantime, before those storms made their way to Georgia there were lots of sirens that were sounded off in nearby Alabama, warning people there. What about the folks in Americus? Did they get that kind of warning, too, that this storm system was heading their way?
MESERVE: Well, the people I talked to at the hospital said that they knew there was very rough weather in the area. They were aware of the danger.
And -- but, of course, you never know where it's going to touch down.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MESERVE: And I was told that there are a couple of people in the critical care area, which is the side the tornado approached from, who suddenly realized that their ears were popping, knew what that was, and dived into bathrooms to get away from the windows in their rooms. And fortunately, they managed to avoid injury.
WHITFIELD: Well, that's good.
MESERVE: So I think even when there's -- even when there's a warning, you know, you aren't sure it's going to happen to you. It's always a shock, I think.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Sure, and always lots of close calls, as experienced there. Thanks so much. Jeanne Meserve in Americus, Georgia.
LEMON: And nine people died in the tornado yesterday in Enterprise, Alabama. More than 50 others were badly enough hurt to seek care.
Our Susan Roesgen is live in Enterprise -- Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the Alabama governor, Bob Riley has just taken a tour of the high school here behind me where eight students were killed. The governor says the damage is basically indescribable.
Both he and the mayor of Enterprise, Kenneth Boswell, praised the school staff for their actions yesterday. There has been some criticism now today, Don, about why didn't the staff, why didn't the teachers let the students go home.
Their first warning here was at 11 a.m. That's when they moved the students into the hallways of the school. But the tornado didn't actually hit the school until 1 p.m. So there has been some criticism from people who think that the students should have been allowed to go home.
But both the governor today and the mayor have said no, that would have been wrong, that this is a secure brick building, as you can see behind me. That this was the safest place that they could imagine the students could possibly be.
Out of the 1,300 students, they're actually very pleased that only eight were killed. They say it's a terrible tragedy, but they do believe that more students would have been killed or hurt if they had been allowed to leave the building.
What no one expected was that this high school would take a direct hit and the concrete roof would collapse onto the students, as well as one of the walls in one of the hallways. And it's that one particular hallway where eight students were together. They were doing the right thing. The teachers had put them with their backs up against the hallway in a defensive position. But when the debris came down, they just were trapped.
So, again, eight students killed here at this high school. One person, an adult, on the street, nearby, was also killed. The governor says he's asking for some federal money to help fix up this area. As soon as they do an assessment of the damage -- Don.
LEMON: Sad all the way around. Susan Roesgen in Enterprise, Alabama. Thank you for that. We'll have much more ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And tragedy all the way around, indeed, Don.
Now back to the college road trip that took a tragic turn. In Atlanta, a bus carrying a college baseball team from Ohio plunged off an overpass early this morning and fell right on to the interstate below. At least six people are dead, more than two dozen others hurt.
The bus was carrying 35 people, most of them baseball players from Bluffton University, on their way to a tournament in Sarasota, Florida. The community of Bluffton is stunned.
LEMON: It certainly is to say the very least. A prayer vigil has held this -- was held this morning at the small Mennonite affiliated university. Classes were canceled, and school officials are on their way to Atlanta.
Reporter Zach Ottenstein of CNN affiliate WTVG joins us from Bluffton with more on that-- Zach.
ZACH OTTENSTEIN, WTVG REPORTER: Don, we have been hearing from students all day that they have sat on the edge of their seat, trying to wait and hear the latest news they can about friends and, for many of them, loved ones who were on that bus.
This is a small university of about 1,500 students. All of those students really happened to know each other, and this community has a very strong relationship with the university. So this community has been on standstill today as they have grieved.
That earlier prayer service took place at about 10 a.m. this morning in the building right behind us. This is Founders Hall. There was not an empty seat inside the building as everyone prayed together. Many tears have been shed here on the campus.
And the university has been doing its best to communicate with the students, the faculty, the staff, the latest information as soon as they get it.
There's been so much traffic on the university's web site we've been told it had to shut down as they had to add repairs and, in fact, increase the bandwidth in order to satisfy all of the people who wanted to get information here at the university and here in this region of the country.
So many people here have been telling us that they know or have a roommate that was on that bus, and they've been having their ears glued to cell phones, just waiting for that information to come in.
We have heard from them that many of the people here are confused about what has happened, and they're confused why the information hasn't come to them more quickly.
But they are focusing on prayer. This is a religious-based university. Those prayer services will be going on. And many clergy members have volunteered their time throughout the evening to offer counseling to students.
This was the beginning of spring break today. Many of those students have canceled or delayed their plans to travel. They want to just stay here with the community, praying and grieving for those that they lost.
Back to you.
LEMON: All right, Zach Ottenstein from WTVG in Bluffton, we appreciate that report from you. We'll be checking back with you a little bit later on.
Friends said it would be over the top, a final farewell that was everything Anna Nicole Smith would have loved. Now, we're in the Bahamas next. So stay in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And, first, there was screaming; then, it went black. Tornado terror at an Alabama high school. We'll talk to a student who was there and his father, who was outside wondering about his son. That's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. LEMON: Yes, we've been following that story and also this one, an interstate tragedy for a baseball team far from home. What happened on this exit? We'll look at that straight ahead.
Don't go anywhere. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Straight to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. This man's son or daughter -- son, rather, was on the bus. And he's speaking now. Let's listen in.
ED KAY, PARENT OF BUS CRASH VICTIM: ... your son is OK, but our hearts sure went out to the other kids that maybe had more serious injuries. You know, and I understand some people didn't make it.
So it's -- it's tough. I mean, we knew a lot of those kids and a lot of the parents. And, you know, our hearts go out to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Kay, can you describe kind of what the situation is like inside the hospital? How the boys are doing, who the mood is, what they're talking about?
KAY: The boys are doing pretty well. Some of them are walking around. They're talking to each other. They're obviously concerned about their teammates and their coaches and the other people that were on the bus.
Most of them are in reasonably good spirits, about as good as can be expected. You know, I will say that Grady Hospital had social services by and a number of chaplains early in the morning to try to...
LEMON: All right, apparently we have lost our feed to Grady Hospital there. Little technical difficulties. But this is Ed Kay, and his son, Timothy, was on the bus. They were from Alpharetta, Georgia.
He's speaking out there in front of the hospital, talking about the other guys who are on the bus, on the team, are concerned about their teammates and what have you.
So let's go back to it. I think we have it back. Let's listen in to Ed Kay again.
KAYE: ... a lot of the community has offered help. I know Blessed Trinity has offered help, which is where my son graduated from. The Lovett School (ph) has been here with some food.
The Mennonite community -- you know, Bluffton is a Mennonite college -- they've been here offering help, so -- and I'm sure there's a long list of other people. I'm sure I've got tons of messages on my phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is your son, Ed?
KAY: My son is in good shape. He really just had some cuts and scratches and, quite frankly, he's ready to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you tell us a little...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... about the crash?
KAY: He doesn't -- most of the kids were sleeping. And, like I said, he remembers waking up and the bus was on the ground. And he was scurrying to get out. And that's -- that's pretty much the common recollection of most of the kids there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk to us about the athletic program and just a little bit about, you know, why -- about how the team works.
KAY: Well, Bluffton University is a Division 3 baseball team, and the kids were on their way to play a doubleheader tomorrow in Sarasota. They start spring break -- this was the last day of school today. So they were on their way to Sarasota to play a doubleheader and then they were going to play seven games in Ft. Myers over the next week.
You know, there were -- so that's basically it. The team has been playing Division 3 baseball for a number of years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know any other parents (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
KAY: I've seen a couple of parents that have gotten here. There's some grandparents here. There's friends of family that happened to be in Atlanta for a number of reasons, so -- there are some -- there are some parents and relatives in the room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... your son in and what position does he play?
KAY: My -- my son is Tim Kay. He is a junior. He is a pitcher DH.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us (UNINTELLIGIBLE) safe to say parent's worst nightmare to get this kind of phone call. Tell us about that.
KAY: Well, absolutely. I mean, if you're all parents, you know that getting a call from a son saying, "I was just in an accident."
And, you know, I even asked him where he was. And he said, "I have no idea. I was sleeping. And I'm looking up."
And you know, we turned on the news. Actually, I don't know who's here from who, but we flipped through all the stations and figured out it was just Northside Drive. And I actually tried to call him back and tell him where he was, but I didn't realize he didn't have his cell phone. He was borrowing somebody else's...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he able to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... that bus was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ... KAY: You know, I was just -- I didn't know what to think, to tell you the truth. And I am -- I am -- I don't -- "pleasantly" is probably the wrong word, but I'm gratified that o many kids came out of this with just bumps and bruises. And you know, I'm really sorry for the kids that -- that didn't make it or aren't going to make it. And, again...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he able to help the other kids in the crash? One of the young kids told us that some of the kids who were less seriously hurt tried to.
KAY: Yes, I have not gotten into that with my son. I know I've heard the same thing walking around the floor, that some of the kids went back to try to help. But, you know, I don't know who, and I don't know if they were able to do much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where was your son (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KAY: I have no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As one of the few parents here, are you kind of being a surrogate parent? What are you even saying to these guys?
KAY: I'm just trying to let the kids know I'm here. If they need anything, I'm local, I can help them. You know, that kind of stuff. You know, and I did want to make sure all the kids have contacted their parents, and most of the kids here have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... what are the guys saying?
KAY: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are the guys saying?
KAY: The kids? You know, again, their concern is "what about my teammates?" Probably the most touching scene we had is when four kids came over from Piedmont Hospital -- or from Atlanta Medical Center and two from Piedmont hospital, and there were a lot of hugs going around. And, you know, kids glad that some teammates are safe and that they saw them well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you happy with the response (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KAY: The response here has been great. Like I said, I mean, there were tons of doctors on the floor this morning. Lots of people helping out. Social services was by, the chaplains were by. I thought it's been a great response.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... talk about the irony, I guess irony, sad irony, that your son goes to school in Ohio. He's going to Florida, and he ends up in his hometown. I mean, it's just -- sometimes things work out so strangely.
KAY: Yes, I -- I really haven't reflected on that. I can't talk to that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Must have been an unbelievable day for you. Does it feel surreal?
KAY: Yes, it does, it does. But, you know, we'll make it through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there's a parent that has to be here for a while, what kinds of things have you thought about what can be done?
KAY: Well, I know a lot of the -- some places have offered hotel services. And I know AirTran has offered to fly some of the parents down. As I said, you know, Lovett (ph) and Blessed Trinity -- and those are the ones that have already volunteered to -- to house kids if they need it.
But you know, most parents were coming down for the Florida trip anyhow. So I think within -- you know, within a day or within a reasonable amount of time, they'll be here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
KAY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spell your name please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think some people missed your name.
KAY: My name is Ed Kay, K-A-Y.
LEMON: OK, that's Ed Kay, who is the father of Tim Kay, who is a pitcher on the team here. They're from right here in Georgia, Alpharetta, Georgia.
And he said his son was sleeping on the bus and then, like most of the team members, and then was awakened by -- once the bus hit the ground. And not knowing where he was. And he turned on the news and saw the reports and called his son and said, "You know, you're right here on Northside Drive."
But again, they were going to that baseball tournament in Sarasota, Florida.
He's saying, obviously, in response to the question there, this is a parent's worst, worst nightmare, to be awakened in the middle of the night or at least early in the morning and being told that your kid or your child is in an accident. So we can understand that what he's going through there.
But then he also said, even with the six people dying, two of those -- one, the bus driver, the other, the bus driver's wife, and then four team members. He said four of the children from other hospitals came over to visit his son, and they were happy that he was OK and that the rest of them were OK. But sad for the rest of their teammates. We want to tell people, too, also. We've told you earlier that AirTrain was providing -- AirTran, rather, was providing free service for people to get there.
Also, the American Red Cross in Atlanta has also set up a phone line for crash victims' families. I'm going to give you that phone number now. It is 404-870-4440. Again, the Red Cross has also set up a family assistance center for people coming in to visit the injured. The phone number one more time: 404-870-4440.
We will continue to follow this story throughout the day and bring you the latest developments right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And tragedy of another scale. We're getting new video in right now of the devastation in Americus, Georgia, one of three states that was hit hard by a string of tornados that wiped through the area.
In Americus, Georgia, two people died, many others injured. A hospital destroyed. Cars overturned. About 200 homes in a community of 17,000 destroyed or damaged.
You're looking at the aerial pictures that are just coming in from our affiliate WXIA.
We're going to continue to follow the developments that revolve around these devastating storms that swept through the southeast: Missouri, Georgia, as well as Alabama when we come back right. You're in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The deadly bus crash in Atlanta. Heroes on the bus risk their lives to save others. One passenger's story straight ahead. You're in the NEWSROOM.
First, back to the aftermath of the tornados. At least 10 people are dead in Alabama; eight of them high school students, nine people are dead in three counties in southwest Georgia. It was just this time yesterday when CNN meteorologists warned conditions were getting intense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAD MYERS, SEVERE WEATHER EXPERT: We're getting some warmth in the atmosphere, and this heat, although there's not a lot of sunshine today, there's just a little bit of extra heat and this push of the energy of the storm now really beginning to make storms spin.
We just tried to get a hold of the folks in Enterprise, Alabama. The officials there. They said, call us back when the storms are over, our sirens are going off, we have to get downstairs. Tornado warning for you.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: To Enterprise Alabama, where we have one large super cell forming, just to the south there. Enterprise, we're going to zoom in on this location right near the Florida/Alabama border. You can see the storm has just been really pulling its way to the northeast, doing so about 15 to 25 miles an hour. Strong rotation indicated with this storm. We've also had rough stuff over towards Andalusia. Many of these storms drifting off to the northeast.
Now, for Enterprise, Alabama, notice the number of people affected about 27,000 people live in that area. That is certainly an area where you want to take cover immediately. Lowest floor of your house, interior room, away from windows.
We just got some new information, I think just came in. Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tornado on the ground in Enterprise.
WOLF: Thank you, Dave. We have new information from the National Weather Service, tornado now on the ground in Enterprise -- in Enterprise, Alabama.
We do have visual confirmation of this? We do have --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emergency (INAUDIBLE) reported it at Enterprise Municipal Airport.
WOLF: I'm hearing that near Enterprise Municipal Airport we've had visual confirmation of this tornado. This warning is going to remain in effect until 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 p.m. Central. If you happen to be in the Enterprise area, or perhaps Daleville, you certainly want to take cover.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So all of that, 24 hours ago. Let's hope that now it's the calm after the storm. Reynolds Wolf back in his perch there in the Severe Weather Center and hopefully thins are going to be calm for a period to let people kind of regroup, rebuild.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: Absolutely. That's one of the weird things when you have one of these outbreaks. One of the weird things, the eerie things about it is when you have this mad rush of rough weather. Usually within 12 to 24 hours it's tranquility. It's just perfect right now in that part of the world, into Alabama and Georgia. We have blue skies.
WHITFIELD: They need that right now, for sure.
WOLF: We really do.
But I'm going to take you back in time last night, talking about a different cell. We've been talking about the damage we've been seeing in Americus, Georgia. This is the super cell we were talking about that struck Americus right at 9:22 p.m., last night. Fairly well defined hook echo at the very bottom of this cell. That's what we look for, that's the signature mark of the rotation of these storms. That is the tornado. The very bottom southwestern tip of the storm.
What's interesting when you have these things move through your area, you've got the heavy, heavy rain. You often have hail. Then you have just -- silence, quiet. And that's where you have the strong updrafts and you have, at the same time, the possible tornado.
Speaking of it, here's what we have. I would definitely say looking at this damage, this was indeed a tornado. We haven't had any official word from the National Weather Service as to the scale of this in terms of the damage an F-0, F-5, whatever. I would say at least F-3 if not stronger. But just devastation. Very similar to what we've seen in Enterprise, Alabama.
In fact, we've really had to count on that marker you see up in the upper right-hand corner of your screen at home, Americus, Georgia. Because I'm telling you, it could be one in the same. People in both these communities are really dealing with much of the same heartache.
Here's again, the shot -- I believe that is of the hospital. I think that was struck in the Americus area. Cars tossed around like toys. Trees like matchsticks. And as far as the eye can see, again, just a hop, skip and a jump of that storm as it rolled through town.
It's very eerie to see the incredible power, sheer power, of these storms. Keep in mind that a hurricane, to be classified as a hurricane, has wind speeds of 74 miles an hour and up. This tornado far exceeded that kind of wind speed. And it is just been -- just a battering ram that made its way through south Georgia, of course, through Alabama. And thankfully, that is not what we are seeing today.
WHITFIELD: Just seeing these pictures really getting a good understanding of the scale of the destruction. Quite remarkable there in Americus where this storm, in Americus along, killed two people.
WOLF: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: This is a storm that spanned, what, 1,000 miles or so, across three states? Remarkable.
WOLF: This storm system, this frontal boundary, was well over 1,000 miles going from the Twin Cities all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. There are going to be a lot of people in these communities that have been struck by these storms, they're going to be second- guessing themselves what could we have done.
WHITFIELD: Right.
WOLF: They did the best they could. The safest place you can be in these storms is underground. I'll tell you, these people did the very best they could.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Speaking of people who tried to do the best they could, a lot of high school students out of Enterprise, Alabama, that school struck and despite their efforts there was a tragic outcome. We are going to be talking to two students from that high school tragedy come up later on in the NEWSROOM
Thanks so much, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
WHITFIELD: Don.
LEMON: We go now to the Bahamas where a funeral just ended and a white hearse carrying Anna Nicole Smith's body has just arrived at the cemetery where she'll be laid to rest. Final moments in a fond farewell, that everything that Smith would have wanted. At least those who are closest to her say that. CNN's Susan Candiotti is there.
Susan, hello to you.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
Anna Nicole Smith, a woman who was famous for being famous, receiving an elaborate sendoff here in Nassau in the Bahamas. As you indicated, a short time ago, a small graveside service is getting under way at a cemetery not far from the church where the funeral service was held here.
Again, it's said to be very private. She eventually will be laid to rest next to her son, Daniel. She said that that was her wish. That was to be her final resting place. And back here at the church, friends describe her funeral as being over the top. They said that's exactly what she would have wanted.
Her casket was draped in pink material and trimmed in feathers and ribbons. Inside the service, tearful eulogies from her mother, and the two men who claim to be the biological father of her daughter Dannielynn, who is almost six months old; those eulogies from Howard K. Stern and ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead.
And even as Anna Nicole is being buried, the legal wrangling goes on over her final resting place. First of all, the father of Danny, her son, has sent a letter to the Bahamian courts asking that his body be exhumed and sent back to Texas. And the mother of Anna Nicole is also said to be working with lawyers to try to have her body exhumed, after it is buried here. She is not giving up a battle that she lost in Florida.
And despite all this, of course, two key mysteries remain. Who is the real father of Dannielynn. And how did Anna Nicole die? To that end, the medical examiner in Florida has said he will have some final answers sometime next week -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you so much for that report.
WHITFIELD: And still lots of unanswered questions involving an interstate tragedy for a baseball team far from home. What happened on this exit? We'll look at that coming up in the "newsroom."
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CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Carrie Lee at the New York Stock Exchange, where "volatility" remains the key word here on Wall Street. Now, we did see the Dow edge into positive territory earlier today. Right now, the major averages are all losing ground. Adding to the list of investor concerns, a new report says American's confidence in the U.S. economy isn't as strong as expected.
Declines in Internet stocks like eBay, Yahoo! Google, also putting pressure on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Right now, you can see the Dow industrials down 85 points. The Nasdaq down 31 and the S&P down 13. Decliners are running more than 2 to 1 ahead of gainers. That's the latest from Wall Street.
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And this is the president landing just moments ago in Louisville, Kentucky, on Air Force One. Video of that landing, on the ground there; it was just a short time ago, but the president is on the ground.
He is on a fund-raising trip. But then he's going to tour the devastated regions later tomorrow. So the president there on a fund- raising trip. Air Force One just landing in Louisville, Kentucky. Then he is on to Indiana. He will be touring those places tomorrow. You know, he spoke out this morning, offering his condolences for the folks who lost loved ones, and also have lost property in these deadly tornados.
WHITFIELD: When the president tours the region that has been devastated by tornados, he just might see this in Americus, Georgia. If he ends up going to this location. You're looking at new pictures we're just receiving in within the past hour of the devastation in Americus, Georgia, where tornados killed at least two people there. Extensive damage to a hospital.
You're looking at a number of buildings that have been destroyed. About 200 homes damaged or destroyed there in Americus, Georgia. One of the locations hit by this string of storms that passed through the area, the Southeast, in particular, yesterday.
Meantime, heartbreak in the southeastern Alabama the town of Enterprise. Nine people died there in yesterday's storm. Eight were teenagers killed when a powerful tornado devastated the high school. Jessica Benson and Tricia Moga are students at that high school. They were there and have come back now to see the devastation.
I can see, there, Jessica, with a Band Aid on your head. Let's begin with you. What did you experience yesterday when the tornados ripped through?
TRICIA MOGA, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was sitting on third hall right next to where the tornado went through it. It totally collapsed. If I would have been sitting a foot over, I would have got caught by the debris. I wasn't -- I'm still in shock.
WHITFIELD: You still feel pretty shaken up today. So what kind of warning did you all as students get that everyone had to get into these hallways because this tornado was on its way?
MOGA: We were in the hallway since around 11 --
JESSICA BENSON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Maybe 10:30 or so.
MOGA: 10:30 or 11. We were supposed to get out at 1:00, early, but we stayed in the hall ways due to the storm. But not many people thought much of it. We were joking around and listening to our iPods and then the lights just went out --
WHITFIELD: Really? Go ahead, Trisha.
MOGA: Like we had gone through this so many times before.
BENSON: No, actually, I'm Jessica, this is Trisha.
WHITFIELD: Sorry, I got you guys mixed up.
BENSON: We had like gone through this so many times before. Last week actually we had just had a tornado drill and we were in the hallways. It was just like a drill. And lasted for like 30 minutes or so. Well, like about 20 minutes or so. Then we got up and we went to class.
And then this week, we -- we had heard there was going to be bad weather coming in. We were like, we'll be in the hallways for a couple hours, and then we'll go home, or whatever but that wasn't the case apparently.
WHITFIELD: So you didn't take it quite take it too seriously. You said, Jessica, you guys have been through this before. And maybe this time you would escape any real damage or any true scare, right?
BENSON: Uh-huh.
MOGA: Right.
WHITFIELD: So then what happened when the lights go out. You're seeing flying debris. Apparently rooftops of that high school building are being torn away. Did you realize at that point that this is so serious that really some people might get hurt if not killed in all of this?
BENSON: Well -- oh, go ahead.
MOGA: I didn't even know what was happening. I thought it was just really windy and breaking windows and then -- I had my eyes closed so tightly I didn't know what was going on. But when I opened my eyes, I saw the debris right in front of me. And it was -- I was really worried. BENSON: The part of the band room that I was in -- like I was in the band room like right back there, in that area. Like, it was really scary. Like, I heard it all going around and stuff. And, um, I was actually holding this girl, Beth, because she was just crying and crying. I was telling her it would be OK, it would be OK. It would be over in just a few minutes.
The lights are flickering on and off and the pressure changes on our ears -- like, we could hear the noise and -- as soon as I stepped outside when it got clear, I actually saw the damage and it was just -- it was --
MOGA: Devastating.
BENSON: Yes, it was devastating.
WHITFIELD: So, Jessica, of these eight students that died in this tragedy at your high school, did it seem like all of them were in the same location?
BENSON: From what I know, and from what I hear, yes, they were all mostly on third hall and Tricia was actually on third hall so, like, she saw some of the students that got hit by that wall.
WHITFIELD: So, Tricia give me an idea what was taking place in that third hall.
MOGA: I couldn't see where my class was anymore. I didn't even sit with my class. I was moved further down, thank God. The people that were sitting across the hall from me weren't there when I looked back. I know that I've heard some of them have passed away and -- I just can't believe it.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, it must be very hard.
BENSON: It's just really unbelievable that our peers are gone so --
MOGA: It is.
WHITFIELD: When you guys came back to the high school today did you come back to kind of see what had happened to your school, or even hear more about maybe some other students, or teachers, that have been missing that you didn't know, you know, how they faired and where they are?
BENSON: I came back to see if, like, anything -- if I could help out at anything at the school. And I can't because they're not letting anybody in the school. I've been helping out across the street from the school with the churches, and whatnot. I also came back to see, like, all the devastation to the school. Because I saw it on the TV at my house and stuff and I was just, like, that really happened to our school, that really happened to Enterprise, Alabama.
WHITFIELD: Well, Jessica Benson and Tricia Moga, we are glad you are doing fine. We still extend our deepest condolences and best wishes to all those who are suffering greatly from this tornado that came through your area.
LEMON: You know, Fredricka, CNN's I-Reporters helped us track the devastation from this storm. Coming up, we'll speak to the man who shot this video. Look at that. Of a funnel cloud weighing down on the school, we just heard about in that live report.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Also, moms and dads, well, they know what happens, your child has a cough, you head to the medicine cabinet for that tasty liquid medicine -- but not so fast. New information about kids and cold drugs straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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WHITFIELD: Live pictures right now of President Bush there on the tarmac in Louisville, Kentucky, just arriving there moments ago. He's in town for a fund-raiser. And then, tomorrow, he heads to the Southeastern region of the country devastated by the tornados that whipped through yesterday, across three states; 20 people died from the path of tornados that covered about 1,000 miles.
President Bush, right now, today in Kentucky before heading throughout the tornado-devastated region throughout the weekend.
Now some medicine news. Parents, listen up. How much cold medicine are you dealing out to your kids? The FDA is taking a pretty good look -- a hard look at the wide spectrum of cold and cough medicines designed for kids, and marketed to parents.
This on the heels of a report blaming over-the-counter medications for three infant deaths. An FDA official says medicines available on store shelves are not tested well enough to decide safe doses for kids.
LEMON: College road trip takes a tragic turn in Atlanta. A bus carrying a college baseball team from Ohio plunges off an overpass early this morning, falling into the interstate below. At least six people are dead. More than two dozen are hurt in this bus accident. The bus was carrying 35 people. Most baseball players from Bluffton University on their way to a tournament in Sarasota, Florida.
We've heard from one of the players a short time ago.
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A.J. RAMTHUN, BLUFFTON BASEBALL PLAYER: I wanted to give my heartfelt -- to the families, to the baseball players involved, my teammates. I understand four of them deceased. I don't -- I just wanted to say -- I just wish there was something I could do to the families who lost your loved ones.
This is something that's not going to leave the guys who were on the bus this morning. This is going to be with us forever. And we've been living together, practicing together, just -- we've been a family for the past five months. And just -- something like this morning really makes you think twice about life.
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LEMON: You can hear the pain in his voice and just see from his injuries just how violent that crash was. A Ramthun, second baseman on the team says his older brother was trapped underneath the bus. He didn't know for hours whether he'd survive. We now know he did survive with injuries to his hip.
Well, Bluffton University is a small liberal arts school affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The campus is 60 miles south of Toledo, Ohio. And 1,155 students are enrolled this academic year. More than 95 percent receive some sort of financial aid.
The school's baseball team played in the Heartland Conference. The next game had been scheduled for tomorrow at noon against Eastern Mennonite.
WHITFIELD: At 9:00 on a rainy Thursday night. Few could have imagined what the next few minutes would bring for a Georgia town and its hospital. A live report from Americus, and the latest video as choppers give us a look at the extensive damage there. That's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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