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President Bush Getting Briefing, Tour of Damage in Alabama; Damage in Americus, Georgia; Deadly Bus Crash
Aired March 03, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: These are live pictures here from Enterprise, Alabama. The president just arrived a short time ago to hard-hit Enterprise, Alabama. That is where eight students died at that high school.
We'll be following along as the president takes a tour of the storm damage there in Alabama, as well as in Georgia.
But good morning to you all from the CNN Center. This is the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, March 3rd.
I'm T.J. Holmes. Thanks for being here.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
CNN is covering this story from all of the different angles. In fact, "AMERICAN MORNING'S" Miles O'Brien is in Enterprise, Alabama, where the president is getting a briefing of that damage.
HOLMES: Also, Allan Chernoff is standing by in Americus, Georgia, at the medical center that was heavily damaged Thursday night.
Live reports straight ahead.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: We do want to start with that presidential visit. Mr. Bush is getting an up-close look at the tornado damage in Enterprise, Alabama. He landed there just about 20 minutes ago.
FEMA director David Paulison is also there. Here's some new video of the president arriving. The federal emergency aid agency already has some assets on the ground there in Enterprise, and later this morning the president is scheduled to talk with some of the families just devastated by this tornado. Eight students killed, several others still hospitalized.
For the latest, let's go live now to Enterprise, Alabama, where CNN "AMERICAN MORNING" anchor Miles O'Brien is standing by.
You've already had a chance to look at this damage up close, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty. The president just went behind us. He's inside the school there right now, went into the entrance of that building right there, which is one of the lesser damaged buildings, and this delegation included, of course, the FEMA director, David Paulison, the two senators from the state, the mayor of this town, the governor, and various other local, state officials and federal officials. They are trying to sort of sort out a plan for this community.
The figure I was given just to replace this facility this morning by one of the state representatives here in Coffee County, $60 million. Imagine how that would dwarf the budget of a city of about 22,000. So, clearly, this is a community that is in need of help, and the president is here to explore the possibilities of what the federal government can do to help.
As he landed at the airport just a couple miles from where I stand here in Enterprise, he addressed that very concern and issued a call to Americans to do their own part.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, Mayor, I told the people yesterday that I come down with a heavy heart. And I will try to the best of my ability to comfort those who lost lives and property. I know that you and the council and the citizens here have done this as well.
I hope it helps for the citizens here to hear that we've declared your county a major disaster area which will provide some relief. You can never heal a heart, but you can provide comfort knowing that the federal government will provide -- will help for those whose houses were destroyed or automobiles were destroyed. And I would strongly urge the citizens here to -- if you've got a question, call 1-800-621- FEMA, and there will be somebody answering your call, and will give you a chance to find out whether or not you will qualify for the relief under the major disaster declaration.
Secondly, I was talking to the governor, and he has said that there have been some funds set up to help the people who suffered. And my call to people here in Alabama and around the United States is, if you feel the generosity in your heart to help people affected by this terrible tornado, I would ask you to contribute.
One such fund is the Red Cross. There will be others. We will make sure that the USA Freedom Corps will have posted on it a place for people to contribute money.
Some people are going to need your help. There have been some poor citizens who may or may not qualify for federal help, but they're going to need the help of our fellow citizens. And I would ask you to, out of the generosity of your heart, to help the folks down here.
This storm is a tough storm. It went eight miles and affected a lot of lives. And this country is a prayerful country. There's a lot of people praying for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: The president is being briefed in a building right next to the Enterprise High School band room. That band today had hoped to be at a competition in Pensacola. Every one of their instruments was destroyed, so just one little small tragedy wrapped inside this large tragedy.
We'll be watching the president as he continues his briefing, see if he has anything else to say. And we'll be back a little bit later to tell you a little bit about what the federal government is trying to do to undo the image and the reality of the response to Hurricane Katrina with some high-tech gadgets. That's coming up a little bit later.
Back to you guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Miles O'Brien on the ground there in Enterprise.
Thank you, Miles.
HOLMES: And Enterprise, Alabama, not the only town struggling to recover from that devastating storm system. The massive line of deadly thunderstorms damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. One powerful twister ripped through Americus, Georgia, heavily damaging hundreds of homes and a regional medical center.
And our Allan Chernoff joins us now outside the Sumter Regional Hospital that was hit pretty good.
Good morning to you, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J.
The tornado really ripped through the Sumter Regional Hospital, trashing the windows, parts of the roof. Much of the hospital absolutely destroyed. The damage outside is bad enough. Come with us now inside the hospital, where patients and medical staff rode out the storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice over): Walk through the remains of Sumter Regional Hospital and imagine the terror that patients and staff endured during the tornado. About 60 patients were here Thursday night when the twister struck.
Nurse Bridget Barrow was among those caring for them. Today she feels lucky to be alive.
BRIDGET BARROW, NURSE, SUMTER REGIONAL HOSPITAL: You could feel the suction and the doors. Immediately, emergency doors and the doors to the room started flapping open, on and off.
CHERNOFF (on camera): You feel the suction, and what are you thinking?
BARROW: I'm thinking we're all going to go out of the ceiling and the roof.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Winds swept away part of the roof, yet everyone in the building survived.
(on camera): There were four infants here in the nursery when the tornado struck. Nurses took those infants out of the nursery and then brought them into interior rooms with their moms. Then the nurses gathered here in the hallway, got down low, and held on to this railing for dear life.
BARROW: And I was holding on to the rail, and I really did, I just started saying, "Please, God, protect us. Just stay with us." And then truly, really and truly in that moment, about five seconds later is when it lifted.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Contractor Rick Newell helped build the hospital's newest wing seven years ago and brought CNN along as he assessed the damage.
RICK NEWELL, ALCON ASSOCIATES INC.: The hospital's done an amazing job with getting everybody out in the time frame that they did with no injuries.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Can you believe no one died here?
NEWELL: Not from what I've seen, no, sir.
CHERNOFF: It's incredible.
NEWELL: It is very incredible.
CHERNOFF (voice over): The same is true for the devastation. Far more than a hospital was destroyed in Americus -- a shopping center, including the Winn-Dixie supermarket, and at least 500 homes, according to the county sheriff.
Alma Camp and her sister Rena Deresa (ph), in the red, had one of the scariest experiences of their 80-plus years in this town Thursday night.
ALMA CAMP, AMERICUS RESIDENT: It sounds very much like a freight train. And I don't know, I just -- you go back and try to relive, and it's terrible.
CHERNOFF: Their home suffered no damage, but it's painful for them to see what has become of their beloved town.
CAMP: I'm almost...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that's OK.
CAMP: It hurts to see it destroyed this way. We watched this place grow, and it's terrible. It's terrible to see it gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHERNOFF: Indeed, many structures will be gone here, bulldozed away after devastating damage. But at least the new portion of the medical center right behind me which was built in 1999, the engineers say it still is structurally sound, and they do plan to rebuild and fix it up.
Back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: Wow. That's amazing to think just looking at it there, though.
Allan, thank you so much.
Meanwhile, as President Bush tours the disaster zone, we'll be bringing you live pictures and news conferences as they come in to us. So stay here.
NGUYEN: Our other top story this morning, the fatal bus crash in Atlanta.
Investigators today will get their first look at that bus. Authorities suspect the driver accidentally got off on a southbound exit ramp on Interstate 75 without realizing it. And here's an animation of that.
That accident happened early yesterday while it was still dark outside. The bus then continued through the stop sign, struck a barrier, and then flipped over on the edge on to the highway below. And you see the accident scene there.
Well, as you know, the bus was carrying the Bluffton University baseball team. And that school is located in the small town of Bluffton, Ohio, which is about 50 miles south of Toledo.
A prayer vigil was held on campus last night for the victims, and another service was held in Sarasota, Florida. The team was headed to Florida for its first tournament of the season.
Four of the young athletes were killed in that crash. The driver and his wife, they also died.
HOLMES: And many of the injured from that crash were released overnight from Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta.
CNN's Don Lemon had a chance to speak with some of them. He's there now live for this report.
Don, good morning. A lot of them did get out of there, but that's not the case for everybody.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning to you, T.J.
You know, it's really a sad time here. We're talking about -- Betty was talking about that memorial service in Bluffton, but, you know, this was supposed to be spring break. They were actually going on a tournament for spring break. A lot of ballplayers, a lot of their families really hearing about this and driving down here to Atlanta. We spoke to some just a short time ago. Hopefully we'll have that for you a little bit later on in this newscast. But they drove -- they said they had to be with their teammates.
In the meantime, as you said, a lot of the injured were brought here, at least 19. We're hearing 15 of those, of the 19, they were let go last night, released. Those were the people who had moderate injuries, but there's still two people here.
There's still two people here in critical condition, and sadly, one of those had to go back into surgery last night. And we spoke to a doctor who worked on those folks just a short time ago, and he told us about those injuries.
He's saying pretty much today, though, he doesn't think the status of those injuries will change. So those folks not out of the woods yet. Obviously, their family, as well as the rest of the country, praying for them.
Two people here still in serious condition -- in critical condition. One in serious, one in fair.
We also spoke to some of the people who were just -- who were released yesterday, two ballplayers. One of them a sophomore, the other a junior. One Greg Sigg, the other Curtis Schroeder (ph). Very emotional. Here's what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG SIGG, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I'm all right. A little bruised up, but I'm as good as I can be, I guess.
LEMON: It's been a rough day, rough night for you?
SIGG: Yes, a little bit. I mean, it's just -- it's overwhelming at this point. It just really hasn't set in completely, but...
LEMON: What do you say to people around the country who are rooting for you guys and thinking about you guys?
SIGG: We really appreciate it all, and we just thank everyone. It's just been great support, and just keep us in your prayers and continue to think about us, this next few weeks, and just keep us in your prayers.
LEMON: Do you feel like you've been in a dream, a nightmare?
SIGG: Yes. It was -- I'm still waiting to wake up. It's just -- I'm just shocked.
You don't expect something like that to happen, especially small town Ohio. It's really rough.
LEMON: It sounds like you want to cry, man. SIGG: I don't know. I'm all right. Just...
LEMON: What position do you play?
SIGG: I'm a catcher.
LEMON: When you finally saw your family and talked to them -- have you seen them?
SIGG: Yes. They caught a flight down here. So...
LEMON: Their reaction, your reaction?
SIGG: Just tears and hugs and just not letting go, just showing our love for each other. It was great to see them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told my mom not to come down because I'm not really seriously injured. I mean, a broken eye and some stitches. But I told my mom not to come down, and then when I went to check in at the hotel, she was standing there, and we just both broke down in tears. So...
LEMON: Many of the families the same reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so. Families are relieved to see that their kids are all right. My hands are cut up like that, and then my -- I've got five stitches in my knee right across the -- the kneecap, but I've got that bandaged up.
It's really hard to -- to realize that this just happened like all day. You're just like, is this really happening? You're just waiting to wake up, but then you see your teammates and it's just -- you realize there's players not there, and it just kind of hits you slowly, and it hits you hard at some times, and other times it just still feels unreal, yes.
LEMON: Where were you sitting on the bus?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in the back.
LEMON: Tell us what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was asleep laying across the seats, and then I remember the hit on the wall, and then I remember a big hit when we hit the ground. But the next thing I remember I was standing in glass and we started getting people out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And Greg Sigg, the one you saw with the facial injuries there, said he was sort of disoriented after the accident and didn't know what was going on, and when he finally realized what had happened, he called his mother right away on the cell phone to tell his mom, you know, "We've been in an accident. I'm OK, but we're not sure about everything else." About all of the other people who were involved. And yesterday when I was at that scene, eyewitnesses telling me that they saw some of the people climbing out of the emergency hatches. Obviously, some of those guys that you just saw there were some of the folks who had to climb out of those hatches.
Six people from all of this died -- four of their teammates, the bus driver, and the bus driver's wife as well.
Also, new on this investigation, the National Transportation and Safety Board holding a press conference last night, talking about what they are going to do as far as this investigation. They're going to be looking at the possibility of a data recorder on that particular kind of coach bus.
They are not exactly sure if that bus has one of those, but they are certainly hoping that it does, because, as I said, the driver died in all of this, so getting some answers may be a little bit tough in this situation. But certainly a tough situation for all the players involved.
T.J., Betty, back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Don. Thank you so much, from Grady Memorial there, where a lot of players still -- got four of them there still being treated. Hopefully they will be OK. A couple of them in pretty -- pretty serious shape, pretty bad shape, but still, good to see that so many were able to go home.
NGUYEN: To go home finally, yes.
And Bluffton University very hard hit by this disaster, still struggling to cope with the loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all 18 to 22-year-olds who think we can do anything in the world and nothing can affect us, but there's always -- there's accidents that can happen, and it's just a rude awakening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We have a live report coming up in 20 minutes.
HOLMES: Also, as we mentioned, four of the student athletes were killed. Just who were these young men? Our Veronica De La Cruz has been looking into that.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning, T.J.
I've been scouring the Web this morning trying to find out more information on these four young men. Some of them had personal Web pages. I'll show you what I found next from the .com/DESK -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Veronica.
But first, a survivor's story as we head back to Enterprise, Alabama. You'll want to keep it here.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM JACKSON, FATHER OF VICTIM: One of the rescuers and one of the guys that was there had said that A. J. had kept a concrete beam from falling on a girl to save her life, and that she survived. I don't know who the girl is, but that sounds just like A.J. With a smile on his face he would do it again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That is the father of a boy who is being remembered as a hero, talking about his 16-year-old son and his split-second decision to sacrifice himself for a friend.
HOLMES: And as you saw live here just a short time ago on CNN, President Bush, he's now in Enterprise, Alabama, to tour the disaster area.
CNN "AMERICAN MORNING" Miles O'Brien also there, has been with us this morning.
And what can you tell us? Where is the president now, Miles? What's he getting a look at?
O'BRIEN: Yes, the president is outside on the grounds. He's down in a parking lot there, where it's kind of hard to see from where we're standing right now. But basically there's a bunch of cars there that look like they were picked up and crumpled by a giant and then thrown back down. He's walking through that area right now, continuing to get his briefing and getting an assessment of the damage here.
In the meantime, a lot of folks have turned out here to see what is going on here, to watch the president's arrival.
Among them, Denise Roberts. Denise Roberts, who is a parent of -- who is the parent of one of the teens who was nearby that hall that collapsed. Also happens to be a nurse who was working at the hospital that day.
What a day you had, dealing with your patients, they call it the code gray there, to get them out of their room and the hallways, and then simultaneously worried about your daughter who you knew was over here.
As you look back on it, could there have been a longer 45 minutes in your life?
DENISE ROBERTS, MOTHER OF ENTERPRISE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Definitely not. She actually had just made it home right before it hit, still had a lot of friends here though. And we had tried and tried to get a hold of her, and we couldn't get a hold of the kids. And then we had the rumors that the school had been hit. And at the same time, we're trying to pull patients into the halls and protect them as well, as we're trying to call home and reach our families that are home, and our husbands that are on the road, and it was extremely frightening.
O'BRIEN: This is a community with a lot of grief right now. Does the president coming here matter really much in the grand scheme of things?
ROBERTS: It makes a big difference just to know that the president has come all this way down to Alabama, our little community, which is very encouraging to know that he cares so much about us. And to see the support from all over the world, to have the government care so much about our community, you just can't say how much it means to you.
O'BRIEN: We've all seen what happened after Katrina and the lack of follow-up that we've reported on. Are you concerned that as time goes on and we go away and the president leaves, this little -- what happened here will be forgotten in some way?
ROBERTS: Well, I know as time goes on people tend to think less and less about those who are still in need, but we have such a good community, a fantastic state. I really think that everything will be OK.
They will continue to build, to support us, to help us get back on our feet. Our main concern is all those who have lost their homes right now and to get the schools back up and running.
O'BRIEN: A final thought here. We've talked so much about this, the decision to send the kids home or not. As you look back on it, and all the sequence of events and the warnings and everything that was going on that day, do you fault the administrators, the principal, anybody in the school for any actions they took that day?
ROBERTS: Definitely not. I think that their main concern was to keep the students safe. No one really knows if the students would have been safer had they left to go home with all the homes that were damaged. There could have been so many more people on the roads.
I think that they did the best they could just to protect the students. And our hearts go out for those that were killed. I still think it could have been worse, but our prayers are with those families.
O'BRIEN: How do you think it might have been worse?
ROBERTS: If they had been out driving at the time. It was such a massive tornado, a lot of people, you know, were safe inside the buildings, which you tend to think that the school is safe, and I think it was. It's just the size of the tornado, you couldn't prevent the damage.
O'BRIEN: How is your daughter doing? Is she doing OK? ROBERTS: She's doing OK. Emotionally, she's still having a difficult time, but I know that there's a lot of counselors, family support, friends. God is going to help us all through it.
O'BRIEN: Denies Roberts, thank you very much.
And right behind us now is what?
The president is still touring. He's still outside there, T.J. And we're watching his every step. We're hoping he gets an opportunity to come over to talk to us. And if he does, we'll get right back to you, of course.
Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Miles. Thank you so much.
We will be keeping an eye, of course, on, like you said, every step the president makes there as he tours that damage.
Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: And, of course, we're going to be following all of these stories throughout the day right here on CNN.
In fact, Rick Sanchez joins us now by phone with a look at what he's working on today.
Good morning, Rick.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Betty. You guys are doing a fabulous job on this story.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: You know, I think whether you live on the East Coast or the West Coast, you look at what's going on in this community, and you see just how difficult it is for them. And Miles was asking some great questions that we're going to be following up on throughout the day as to what caused this tornado.
And I think as we come away, we can't help but be convinced that the administrators there did follow procedure. I think the policy is to keep the kids in the school when you have a tornado coming. I think the policy at that particular campus was to put them in the hallway.
The questions that I still think need to be asked for the benefit of all students all over the country in case like something like this happens again is, is that the best policy? Not that they didn't follow it, but is that the best policy? Does a hallway work?
I mean, this is the kind of thing that structural engineers may be able to give the best answers to, but I think it's important to look at something like this. It's obvious, we just heard moments ago in Miles' interview, that parents are convinced, as they should be, that many of the students would have been worse off outside the school, but I think as people look at this, they're going to want to know, well, is a hallway in a school a better place, or should there have been a basement or another part of the building that would have been structurally perhaps more sound?
So we're going to be looking at that.
And we're also going to be speaking of the CSI thing that we all look at when we do news. I know you've been showing pictures of this, you and T.J., throughout the morning.
This whole incident in Atlanta of the HOV lane, is that the type of thing that can happen in other cases because of the ways we put our roads together? This looked to be -- and I think you all are going to be convinced as you look at this as well -- a drive who was convinced that he was on the right road though he wasn't.
So, we're also going to be trying to reexamine that as well.
And you know what else we're going to be doing, Betty? We're going to be looking at bin Laden, the question of where he is.
U.S. officials this week for the first time said to Congress, yes, we know where he is. Is it in -- you know that sector between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Waziristan? It's that mountainous region. We all believe that he's been there for a long time.
It's hard for U.S. officials to get to him there because he has so much support. Well, it's almost to the point where it's being pinpointed there now. And the question is then, what do U.S. officials do with that information?
So, a lot of stuff on the menu -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, these are some very valid and very good questions, Rick. And of course we'll be watching to see what answers you're able to get out all of it.
Thanks for joining us this morning. We'll see you tonight.
SANCHEZ: We'll look forward to it. You guys keep up the good work.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
HOLMES: And of course we've been talking about that deadly road trip. It really took a deadly turn, not what it was supposed to be. A college campus now shattered by all of this. We'll take to you Bluffton, Ohio, live.
That's coming up straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: President Bush is on the ground in Enterprise, Alabama, right now. This is him getting off Marine I a short time ago. He's touring the storm damage. He'll be meeting with families there. Hello again to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. NGUYEN: Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for joining us today. An important announcement by the president this morning. Upon landing in Enterprise, Alabama, the president said that he has declared it a major disaster area, now clearing the way for Federal funds for those devastated by the storm. Eight students died when Enterprise high took a direct hit. Governor Bob Riley promised state aid and to rebuild. He also defended the decision by school officials not to send kids home when the first tornado warnings came nearly three hours before that school was hit.
HOLMES: Really the focal point of Alabama's devastation has been that high school. There's been a flurry of activity there this morning. For the latest from Enterprise and that high school specifically we turn back to CNN "American Morning" anchor Miles O'Brien. Miles?
O'BRIEN: Yeah, T.J., the president is just now leaving here and he's got a big itinerary ahead of him, more damage to see. He's going to get into his helicopter and head over to Americus, Georgia, and take a look at the damage there. Talked about why he's here. A lot of it is to be the consoler in chief in a sense and meet with those families and meet with the town that is grieving, but also to talk with local and state officials who have some big bills to pay here as they try to rebuild this school and try to get back on their feet. The lessons from Katrina are always on people's lips in the wake of that event in any catastrophe and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is doing everything it can to say it has learned those lessons. We've seen it just here. Yesterday they rolled in with a high-tech command facility which they say proves they have learned those lessons.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): FEMA says it's on the road to recovery and this truck is part of the solution to its colossal Katrina failings. It's a rolling communications hub brimming with radios, phones, computers and cameras.
MARK HALL, FEMA: It's so versatile. It's small. We can move it around. It's got such good equipment into it.
O'BRIEN: It's designed to keep field workers in touch with Washington and give the leadership there a clearer picture of the disaster. I spoke with the FEMA Director David Paulison using the teleconferencing rig inside the truck.
DAVID PAULISON, FEMA DIRECTOR: One of the lessons learned in Katrina was not having on ground visibility or situational awareness, not having good communications and vehicles like this give us that capability, let's us see real time what's happening. If we had had vehicles like this in New Orleans, we would have known very clearly what was happening at the superdome, know very clearly what was going on with convention center and real time live shots of what's going on with the levees instead of just guessing. This has got tools, going to be invaluable for FEMA to really get a hands on situational awareness of what's going on with these disasters. O'BRIEN: The truck is also designed to make it easier for the patchwork of local state and Federal emergency responders to communicate. This bank of radios serves as a switchboard between different frequencies.
HALL: We can patch them through to each other.
O'BRIEN: Do you have to be in the middle of that conversation or can you actually directly they can create a direct conversation?
HALL: They call in and they call in on this radio and then using the software on the AC-1000, then I can connect them to say this radio so even though they have separate radio systems.
O'BRIEN: The communications truck rolled out with another FEMA team charged with getting to a disaster scene like this first. They are also equipped with satellite links, generators, an all-terrain vehicle, and a place to sleep and meet with local officials.
NED WRIGHT, FEMA: What we're supposed to do is help those on the ground and say what do you really need and so that we can make sure that those resources get here quicker and it's the right resources.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. Here we are. We're inside the truck right now and one of the things they do here inside this truck, they watch CNN. They just saw themselves here, so we're glad that part of the communication hub here is checking out what we have to say, but this is a lot of what FEMA does. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is about putting resources together with people. They don't actually write out checks. They find the resources for people and so that's why this communication capability here is so important. Earlier on in our program, we did say if you call the FEMA number, they will help see if you qualify for funding. The number to call now and the reason to call now is simply to register, to get on the list. There will be an analysis later as to who would qualify for some general assistance. Generally, if you have insurance, private insurance, Federal funding is not what you're going to get. So that's basically how it goes, but there's a lot more to it than that but we don't have time for it. T.J..
HOLMES: All right, Miles, thank you. (INAUDIBLE) shortly.
The other tragedy we're covering today, the big bus crash in Atlanta, the heartache, of course, for the families, the friends of six people killed in that crash. really sent a bus full of college athletes plunging over an overpass. We're live from Bluffton, Ohio, a town in mourning. That's coming up next in the NEWSROOM.
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HOLMES: We continue now following developments in the Atlanta bus crash that killed members of an Ohio college baseball team. Federal investigators expecting to get a first look at the bus this morning. Authorities suspected the driver accidentally got off a southbound exit ramp on interstate 75 without realizing he had done that. The bus then continued through the stop, as you see there, struck a barrier, then flipped over the edge and then down onto the highway beneath. Earlier this morning, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported that four students remain hospitalized at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, two of them in critical condition. Here now pictures from a vigil in Sarasota, Florida, last night. Sarasota was the team's destination. The team from Bluffton University was scheduled to play its first spring training game there today.
NGUYEN: The tiny town that is home to Bluffton, University also held a vigil last night. For more on how the town is coping, let's go now to CNN's Jason Carroll. He joins us live from Bluffton, Ohio. No doubt some very heavy hearts there today.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Betty. In fact, this was the scene here last night at Bluffton University where they held a vigil for those students. About 500 (AUDIO GAP) really emotional, members of the community were in the gymnasium (AUDIO GAP) together. This is something that's affecting the people here very, very deeply.
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CARROLL (voice-over): Students at Bluffton University were inconsolable. Tears for four members of the school's baseball team killed in a bus accident on an Atlanta interstate while on their way to the first game of the season. The university is a small Christian liberal arts school with about 1,200 students. The town of Bluffton is a rural community about 50 miles south of Toledo with a population of only 4,200, including the school's student body. So when something of this magnitude happens, Jake Slager, a senior at Bluffton, says everyone feels it.
JAKE SLAGER, BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Everybody pretty much knows each other, love each other, so everybody is impacted.
CARROLL: Baseball players Tyler Williams, David Betts, Scott Harmon and Cody Holp were killed in the crash. Colin Yoeder and his friends who are athletes at Bluffton knew them all.
COLIN YODER, BLUFFTON, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I played basketball against Tyler, with Tyler and had class with David Betts. Just to think that one day you're sitting in class with these guys. You're playing basketball with them and when something like this happens, you don't even know how to react really.
CARROLL: Rustin Pickett was on the baseball team for two years before he switched to play football but he never forgot his friend who played outfield.
RUSTIN PICKETT, BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: A good friend of mine was Tyler Williams, just hung out, played ball together and worked out together, so since we're so close like Colin said, you see everybody every day.
CARROLL: Classes at Bluffton were cancelled after the accident. Crisis counselors are here for anyone who needs them. So, too, are alumni like Bluffton's Mayor Frederick Rodabough. He has lived here all his life. How painful is it for you at this time?
MAYOR FREDERICK RODABOUGH, BLUFFTON, OHIO: I wouldn't say it's as painful as losing someone from your own family, but it's very close to that. You feel very sympathetic towards the families of those that were lost and those that were injured.
CARROLL: As flowers start to collect on Bluffton's baseball field, the students here are trying to cope with the heartbreaking lesson in how fragile life can be.
BEN McCULLOUGH, BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: We're all 18 to 22- year-olds who think we can do anything in the world and nothing can affect us, but there's always those accidents that can happen and it's just a rude awakening.
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CARROLL: And you know, Betty, when I was talking to some of the students, they kept using the word surreal. For some of these people here what happened just doesn't seem real to them. It just hasn't really hit them yet and they tell me all they can do really at this point is lean on each other for support. Betty?
NGUYEN: You know, Jason, on the Atlanta side here, when we talked to some of the players who survived that, it really hasn't sunk in just yet either so this is something that's going to take some time. Jason Carroll in Bluffton, Ohio, Jason, thank you.
HOLMES: Those four players we've been talking about, Tyler, David, Scott, Cody, they weren't just baseball players. They were brothers; they were sons; they were friends. CNN.com's Veronica de la Cruz has been surfing the web to find out more about the bus crash victims.
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HOLMES: Well, before you leave for your next international trip, you better be sure to pack your passport or new travel rules may keep you grounded.
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AMY ZIFF, TRAVELOCITY: The new rule will mean that kids under the age of 18 can travel with their parents and get in with a copy of their birth certificate, and if children the ages of 16 to 18 are traveling with a religious group, a social group, a school group, something like that, they will be able to get into the country from Canada or Mexico, the Caribbean as well with just their copy of their birth certificate and that is by land or by sea.
Air travel, everybody needs a passport. That's really important to emphasize. If you're cruising or if you're driving, you don't need a passport until January 1, 2008. For people who have any questions on how to get a passport, where to get a passport, if they want an expedited passport, renewal passport, anything like that, they can go to www.getapassport.com. It has all of the answers.
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HOLMES: All right. We've been telling you about some of the players who were injured in that horrible bus crash here in Atlanta. Many of them were released from the hospital actually, about 15 of them, over at Grady Memorial Hospital, four of them still there. Of course, not all the players were making the trip actually and some of the families and friends and players who didn't make the trip are starting to trickle their way into Atlanta to check on their friends, their loved ones, their family members. Don Lemon is over at Grady Memorial Hospital where he's been at the post. We've been hearing Don from some of the players that were released and now you're starting to hear from people who are coming in to check on those players.
DON LEMON, CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, T.J.. When you work together, you play on a team together, you often become like a family and that's what these players were saying about their teammates. They said their coach always taught them to be a family and to work together as a team and that's what they have been -- that's what they have been taught and that's what they have been doing. It's been obviously a very emotional time for them.
Most of the upper classmen on this baseball team made the trip and a lot of the folks who were freshmen didn't get to make the trip. For some, it sort of worked out in their favor because they weren't involved in that fatal accident, but it was just as hard I would imagine for the folks who were back at Bluffton University watching this all unfold on television and not being able to be here with their team members.
A lot of them drove all night. One family we spoke to just a short time ago Sam Fruchey, he is a freshman on the team and his mother. We spoke to them a short time ago and they talked to us about what's going on back at the university and why they drove all night, why they had to be here to support their teammates.
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SAM FRUCHEY, FRESHMAN PITCHER, BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY: We got in about 1:30 last night.
LEMON: OK. Why did you drive down?
FRUCHEY: Just to visit with all my friends and teammates.
LEMON: How is everything back at school?
FRUCHEY: It was - everyone was emotional about it. I left as soon as I could when I got home, so yeah. Everyone is all torn up about it. I haven't really talked to too many people at school about it. I just tried to get a hold of all the guys on the team.
LEMON: Yeah. For people who are here, how do you explain to them what you're going through? FRUCHEY: I don't know if you can really explain it. I don't think -- it's tough. You can't really explain the feeling you're going through right now. You just hope that everyone that is injured still just makes it through.
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LEMON: And they are coming here to the hospital, to Grady Memorial Hospital, here in Atlanta to check on the folks who are still here. There's still two people, two of their teammates who are in critical condition here. One of their teammates is in stable condition or serious condition, the other in fair. Most of those people have been released. About 15 of them were released last night and yesterday and they are now staying at hotels in the surrounding area. We're also hearing that family members are trying to set up some sort of a meeting today at one of those hotels so that they can sort of figure out exactly what's happening.
One system, one place where they can get together and talk about what's happening and what they should do next, but again it is a very emotional time for the team members, especially those who made the trip and were injured and were on that bus when it crashed over the guardrail and then on to I-75 and just as emotional for the team members who are back at home watching all of this unfold and they're trying to make their way here to Atlanta so that they can be with the members of the baseball team. That's the latest from here at Grady hospital. I'm going to send it back to you. T.J..
HOLMES: All right, Don, thank you so much.
NGUYEN: We wanted to get more on this bus crash now with Veronica de la Cruz who has been tracking the story online. What are you seeing Veronica?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: Betty, like we've been talking about, there was a prayer vigil last night in Ohio for these four young men, sophomore Tyler Williams from Lima, sophomore David Betts, who was 20 years old, freshman Scott Harmon, freshman Cody Holp who was 19 as well as the bus driver and his wife who were killed in the crash. The mayor of Bluffton has said to you earlier, the two did live very close to the town.
Both the town and the school are taking this loss hard, as you would imagine. These are images from that vigil last night, around 500 mourners gathered at Bluffton University for this candlelight vigil. The service began with several moments of silence as mourners fought back tears. Cody Holp had a myspace account and he was one the four players killed. He was a popular guy, by looking at his page, that's what we've been able to glean. He was chosen as his high school prom king. Here how one of his friends remembers him.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cody, just irreplaceable. Everybody knew Cody. I don't think he had any enemies whatsoever. Like bad things don't happen to people like that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Others are still in shock after hearing about the deaths of four students from the small and tight-knit community.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unreal. It hasn't hit a lot of people yet. I don't think it's hit me enough yet.
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DE LA CRUZ: Now I've been reading more on all the players from various web sites and this is what I found online at the "Akron Beacon Journal." The annual spring trip Betty to Florida was the highlight of the player's baseball season. Players were not guaranteed a spot on the bus, especially the freshmen. Senior and former player Rustin Pickett said when baseball season comes around, everyone wants to know did you make the bus? Ironically enough making the bus is actually the honor when you're on a baseball team like that.
We've been asking you to share your thoughts on this tragedy and I have a couple e-mails to share with you now. This is from Janelle (INAUDIBLE) who said David Betts and his family attended my church. His parents both attended Bluffton College and I remember his smile or his grin which seemed to be on his face much of the time. I also remember whenever I saw him with a coat on it was his letter jacket.
And we get this e-mail from Brad in Fall City, Nebraska who says "it's such a sad story. I have a son playing college baseball. His team was in Louisiana last weekend. The motel the team was at was one-and-a-half miles away from the tornado that day. And then he goes on to say it's unbelievable the thoughts that a parent would have at a time like this. So if you would like to share your thoughts as well, you can e-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. It's so much to take in. It really does leave you speechless.
NGUYEN: It does. It's a lot to take it, but what it does is really it puts a person behind the faces and the names of those who were, unfortunately, killed in this crash. Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Veronica, and we will be right back. We're going to take a quick break.
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