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Ballplayer's dad: Son died 'doing what he loved'

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TOLEDO, Ohio (CNN) -- The father of an Ohio college baseball player who died Friday in a Georgia bus crash said Sunday his son "died doing what he loved," traveling with his team to a weekend game.

John Betts, the father of Bluffton University infielder David Betts, wore his son's baseball cap as he landed in Toledo, Ohio, aboard a chartered jet that carried the bodies of his son and another of the six people killed in the wreck.

The cap "was taken by one of the players and given to me, and I'm very proud of that," Betts said. (Watch two brothers who survived the tragedy describe their ordeal )

The flight also carried 30 players and their families back from Atlanta, Georgia, where the team's bus careened off a freeway overpass before dawn Friday. The team was on its way to a game in Sarasota, Florida, and was scheduled to play in a tournament in Fort Myers, Florida.

Citing the family's request, school officials did not release the identity of the other victim whose body was aboard the plane.

The tragedy shook Bluffton, a Mennonite-affiliated college of about 1,150, about 60 miles south of Toledo.

In addition to Betts, a sophomore, the crash claimed the lives of three players -- freshman pitcher Cody Holp, freshman third and first baseman Scott Harmon and sophomore outfielder Tyler Williams. The bus driver and his wife, Jerome and Jean Niemeyer, were also killed in the crash.

Another 29 passengers aboard the bus were injured, and several remained in Atlanta hospitals Sunday night. Bluffton University President James Harder said the survivors would all be "changed individuals" after the disaster.

Highway safety experts are investigating the cause of the crash.

A preliminary investigation found that the bus was headed south on Interstate 75 in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane when it took an exit to the left off the interstate. However, the bus apparently failed to stop at the top of the ramp and continued through an intersection and across an overpass and before plunging to the road below.

There were no skid marks leading up to a stop sign at the end of the exit.

Crash may prompt change

National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins said Sunday that the board may ask Georgia officials to overhaul the atypical interchange. (See what the interchange looks like)

The HOV lane splits just ahead of the interchange, with one lane continuing toward downtown and the other -- the one the bus apparently took -- becoming an off-ramp.

"I personally believe that we should be talking to the state of Georgia to see whether there's any sort of interim steps," Higgins said. "Not necessarily a recommendation from us, but is there something the state of Georgia could do to recognize that it shouldn't be business as usual at that intersection."

'It still feels unreal'

Freshman pitcher Sam Fruchey, who wasn't on the bus, drove overnight from Ohio to check on his teammates.

He said Saturday he couldn't describe the emotions he was feeling, but said, "You just hope that everyone that's injured still just makes it through."

Fruchey's mother Peggy described the situation as "awful."

"That's the first thing that went through my mind, you know, that thank God he wasn't on the bus, but I just feel terrible for all the parents," she said.

Bluffton University first baseman Greg Sigg, like most of his teammates, was asleep when the crash occurred.

"The next thing I remember I was standing in glass and we started getting people out," Sigg said.

The seriousness of the accident began to hit Sigg when he realized that he couldn't find some of his teammates amid the wreckage.

"It kind of hits you slowly," he said. "Sometimes it's harder. At other times it still feels unreal."

Catcher Kurt Schroeder, 20, described a similar disbelief: "I'm still waiting to wake up. I'm just shocked. You don't expect something like that to happen, especially [when you're from] small-town Ohio. It's really rough."

Schroeder said he was "a little bruised up, good as can be."

Sigg, who has stitches in his knee and cuts on his foot and hand, said he is thankful his injuries were minor. He told his mother not to come to Atlanta because he was not seriously hurt, but when he checked into an Atlanta hotel Saturday, his mother was there waiting for him.

Trauma surgeon Jeff Salomone at Grady Memorial Hospital said the passengers suffered head, spleen, lung and liver injuries.

As of Saturday morning, eight players remained in the hospital. Of those, two were in critical condition and one in serious condition, hospital officials said.

CNN's Emily Probst and Jim Polk contributed to this report.

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