advertisment Driver of Semi That Hit Softball Team Bus Said He Was Distracted

The driver of a semi-truck that hit a female college softball team's bus Saturday, leaving four students dead, told investigators that a distraction caused him to swerve, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Russell Staley, 53, was driving the 18-wheeler that jumped a "wide" median on an Oklahoma highway before it collided with a bus transporting North Central Texas College's softball team. Fifteen students and a driver were aboard the bus. Three students were pronounced dead at the scene, and one died in the hospital.

Sources told NBC News that Staley told investigators that he was reaching for a drink when the fatal accident occurred — but Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton said that they had not yet independently confirmed Staley was distracted by anything inside the truck's cabin.

The Peterbuilt truck Staley was driving was transporting Hiland Dairy products and is owned by the trucking firm Quickway Transportation, according to Hiland spokeswoman, Kathy Broniecki. Quickway's president and CEO William P. Prevost said in a statement that the company was cooperating with the investigation into the crash. Prevost offered condolences to the families of the students who died in the crash. "We hope to one day join the college in properly memorializing these ladies lives, and their legacy," he said.

North Central Texas College

Clockwise from top left: Katelynn Woodlee, 18; Jaiden Pelton, 20; Brooke Deckard, 20; and Meagan Richardson, 19. The four women were killed when a semi-truck hit the bus they were traveling in.