The bus trip began like any other.

Headed to Boston for a game Wednesday, the University of Maine women’s basketball team had just finished dinner after a stop in Portsmouth, N.H., on Tuesday night, and the players and coaches were relaxing on their coach bus.

“We had just gotten our dinner,” said sophomore guard Courtney Anderson of Greene. “When we go on the road, sometimes depending on the time, we pick up our dinner to go. We had been on the bus eating and everyone had just finished eating. Normally on the bus, it can be quiet or everyone is engaged in something like watching a movie or talking or something. Because we just ate, everyone was awake and kind of talking.”

In an instant, everything changed.

It was around 8:30 p.m. and team was near Georgetown. The Black Bears’ bus suddenly veered out of control. What was a routine road trip immediately became a trip none of the team will forget.

“All of a sudden we heard (Assistant) Coach (Todd) Steelman from the front of the bus yelling “Hey, what are you doing?’ recalls Anderson, who was among the players gathered in the back of the bus. “Then we heard other people yelling.”

Jeff Hamlin, the bus driver for Cyr Bus Lines, had apparently suffered a medical emergency and was slumped over the wheel. Maine Head Coach Richard Barron attempted to gain control of the bus but was thrown when the bus hit the median.

Anderson said Thursday that the bus just turned at a sharp angle at first and didn’t really alarm anyone immediately.

“Then when we hit the rumble strip and the median, it all became real,” Anderson said. “Someone yelled to hold on and everyone tried to brace themselves.”

The bus continued away from the Southbound lanes of Interstate 95 and crossed the median. It went airborne before going directly across the multiple lanes of the Northbound traffic. Players could see the headlights of the oncoming traffic. They braced themselves for an impact and hoped for the best.

“I had one arm on the chair in front of me and I had one arm on my chair,” said Anderson. “I just tried to hold on and stay between the seats.”

Amazingly, the bus avoided contact with the oncoming traffic. It went off the road on the other side. It hit a snowbank and slid down a small hill before colliding with the trees.

“It went really fast,” Anderson said. “When we hit and we stopped, everyone was confused about what had just happened. It went so fast that none of us had anytime to react to it.”

The team tried to remain calm after the impact. They asked around to make sure everyone was okay. Though dazed and confused, nobody appeared to be seriously injured, with the exception of the driver. He was listed in fair condition on Wednesday.

“It was crazy,” Anderson said. “I’m surprised someone could find their phone to dial 911. Because the rest of us, when someone said to dial 911, we were all looking for our phones and we couldn’t find them. One person still had the phone in hand at that point.”

A number of cars on the highway had witnessed the crash and stopped to assist. The team lingered for a moment and tried to find a way out.

“The bus started to smoke and people who had stopped to help us started telling us that we needed to get off the bus,” said Anderson. “That’s when it felt real. It kind of kicked in that we had to get off the bus.”

They were able to climb out a window and use a tree that they were up against. There were people outside to assist them as they climbed out. They still had to trudge their way up the hill through snow to get back to the highway.

“We have a lot of injured players on our team,” said Anderson. “We have two girls that were on crutches prior to this. So we had to help them get up the hill. There were people without shoes on. If you didn’t have your shoes on, they had to step in snow and hurry up to the top. There was nothing we could do.”

Emergency vehicles began to arrive and team members were all transported to area hospitals. Most were okay but some were treated for cuts and bruises. Freshman guard Milica Mitrovic, from Serbia, was treated for a broken hand. Hamlin was the only person unconscious.

“They strapped most of us down on the board for precautionary reasons,” said Anderson of her ambulance trip. “That was uncomfortable. It was the most uncomfortable part of my day.”

The team was treated in different hospitals, making it difficult to communicate. Anderson was with a few teammates and staff members.

The team all reunited at a hotel in Amesbury around 1 a.m.

“That’s when all the joking about it started,” said Anderson, who also said the team has a light-hearted personality to begin with. “It was like so surreal to everyone that there was nothing we could do but joke about it. We had one player who had her sweatshirt cut off. She was still wearing it. It was so surreal. We didn’t know how any of us made it out of there the way we did in one piece.”

It was a short night of rest for the team before it awoke for the return trip home Wednesday. The team had to collect its belongings off the bus and make their way back through a snow storm to Orono.

They arrived to a warm greeting but still showing a look of shock on their faces.

“It was really nice to see everyone,” Anderson said. “We obviously have a lot of support here at the university between our boosters and the athletic department. We’re very close-knit. There were a lot of people there to meet us.”

Anderson says the whole event is starting to sink in, as the soreness. The players returned to class Thursday and the team has a scheduled meetings to discuss the rest of the season. The Boston University game was postponed, and Saturday’s home game is still up in the air.

“I’m hoping we can still play that game on Saturday,” said Anderson. “It’s UNH and it’s senior night. It’s a game we were all looking forward to.”

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