Tuesday, January 24th marked the 25th anniversary of the fatal bus crash that killed 2 members of the Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team. In 1992, the team was returning from a meet against Northwestern when the accident occured. The charter bus hit a patch of ice, causing the bus to skid off the road and flip onto its side, claiming the lives of Notre Dame swimmers Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp. Beeler and Hipp were both freshmen on the team at the time of the accident.
Among the swimmers injured in the crash was Haley Scott DeMaria. After the crash, she was left facing the possibility of life with paralysis, and was told she may never walk again. DeMaria beat the odds, however, as she got up and learned to walk again. She took it a step further than that, as she returned to the pool to swim competitively for the Fighting Irish again.
Channel 16 news put together a video in honor of Beeler, Hipp, and the victims of the bus crash. In the video, DeMaria opens up about her experience and recovery. You can check out the video here.
I highly recommend Haley Scott DeMaria’s book “What Though the Odds: Haley Scott’s Journey of Faith and Hope”
I will never forget this accident, as a young swimmer in Indiana, acquainted with the Beeler family, I was heartbroken and prayed for the families connected to the tragedy often.