Van crash injures 11 players on Newport Christian School basketball team

Eleven girls from a Newport Beach school basketball team suffered injuries ranging from minor bumps and bruises to a broken arm Thursday when their van rear-ended an SUV, starting a chain-reaction crash on the 91 Freeway in Riverside, authorities said.

The Newport Christian School athletes were heading to a basketball game at Calvary Christian School in Banning, according to the school website. The ages of the injured girls on the junior varsity basketball team range from 11 to 16, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred on the eastbound 91 Freeway, west of Adams Street, just before 1:20 p.m., when the students’ Ford passenger van crashed into the back of a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Traffic had slowed, but the Ford was unable to stop before hitting the car in front of it, according to the CHP.

The impact propelled the Jeep forward and it collided with a Chevrolet Blazer, which smacked into a Toyota Sequoia. The Toyota then collided with a Dodge Avenger. Paramedics arrived on scene and took the students, the Ford’s driver and the Chevrolet’s driver to a hospital for treatment.

The eastbound 91 was closed for about an hour as authorities investigated.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the CHP at (951) 637-8000.

Staff writer Priscella Vega contributed to this report.

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