Rogers Group Experts in Crushed Stone, Aggregates, Gravel, Asphalt Paving, Road Construction, Quarries for 100 Years

-contributed by Jim Hopkins, The Louisville Courier-Journal Rogers Group Aviation Department provided transportation services to these children.

It would be the sight of two of Kalicia Patterson's Ballard High School classmates lying on the road, possibly dead after their tour bus had rolled over, that transformed a sightseeing trip in Ghana last week into a nightmare. Climbing out of the small bus Tuesday on a desert road in the West African nation, Kalicia, 16, soon learned that the boys, although seriously injured, would be OK.	Teacher Louis Bryant, left, spoke yesterday with Thad Schultz, center, and Alona Pack, mother of Rickey Pack. Associated Press Photo
But it would be hours before she, the other four students and a Ballard High teacher made their way to a small medical clinic, which didn't have a telephone, and then to a hospital in Accra, Ghana's capital, where they could be treated and finally call their parents. Yesterday, the ill-fated trip ended on a sun-splashed runway at Louisville International Airport, where the students -- several bandaged and walking with difficulty -- were reunited with their families during an emotional return home. "We're all very lucky that six people are coming back alive," said Richard Schultz, whose son, 17-year-old Thad, was among the more seriously injured. It would take the extraordinary efforts of strangers -- passers-by in Ghana, a company with a jet to spare, accommodating U.S. customs officials -- to speed the return of the students during the long four days after the crash, according to parents and school officials. Delores Dunbar, whose son Daniel, 17, was among the injured, struggled to stop crying as she recalled the telephone call on Tuesday from her husband, Elmer, telling her that their son had been in an accident. Worse, the Dunbars initially didn't know whether he was alive. All her husband could tell her, she said, was: "Don't panic." Pressing a damp tissue to her eyes shortly before Daniel's return, Dunbar recalled that they'd said a prayer for Daniel when he left two weeks ago -- and that prayer had been answered when he returned alive. Kalicia Patterson initially appeared OK when her father saw her at the Louisville airport. But at Jewish Hospital, where her mother took her later yesterday, doctors said she had suffered a number of bruises. Her father, Louis Patterson, said Kalicia described seeing Thad and the second classmate, Rickey Pack, 18, lying on the road after they had been thrown from the bus. "She said it happened so fast that it was unbelievable," Louis Patterson said. The crash occurred about noon on Tuesday during the second half of a two-week trip to Ghana in a cultural-exchange program that Ballard has been involved in for a number of years. The students were in Accra visiting Achimoto Academy, where they were staying and taking classes. Ninety minutes from Accra, during an excursion to a dam, one of the left rear tires on the bus blew out. The bus swerved before rolling over four or five times, according to teacher Louis Bryant and others. "I kind of closed my eyes and we were still gliding," Bryant said. Kalicia said she first knew something was wrong when she heard a popping sound. She grabbed on to the seats as the bus began to roll, managing to remain inside. Another student, Ellen Spence, 16, told her family that, after the crash, the Ballard group flagged down a passing bus. The passengers gave their seats to the injured students and Bryant, who were transported to a small clinic before moving to a larger hospital in Accra. The passengers of the second bus stayed with the Ballard group's belongings, according to Ellen's father, John Spence. Ellen was not injured, Spence said. Spence learned about the accident on Tuesday or Wednesday -- he wasn't sure which -- when his daughter called him at work. She was shaken, but otherwise OK. Two of the students, Rickey and Thad, were hospitalized for several days. The others were treated for cuts, bruises and mild concussions. Bryant was the most seriously injured; his hand was crushed and required surgery in Ghana. He was admitted yesterday at Jewish Hospital for evaluation. He probably will be hospitalized for several days, a hospital spokesman said. The group left Ghana for New York at midnight Friday and arrived in Louisville about 11:45 a.m. yesterday aboard an eight-passenger jet owned by the Rogers Group Inc., a rock-quarrying company based in Nashville, Tenn., that has operations in Louisville. Rogers supplied its jet for free so the Ballard group could avoid a long layover in Atlanta on a Delta Air Lines flight. Ballard principal Sandy Allen, who flew to New York to meet Bryant and the students when they arrived in the United States, said the assistance from Rogers, and the quick work of customs agents at Kennedy International Airport, made a difficult trip home a little less unpleasant. "When kids are involved, the community opens its heart," Allen said. Rickey's father, Rick Pack Sr., was there with a "Welcome Home" balloon bouquet. "It's been pretty . . . ," he said, struggling to find the words. "It's been an anxious week." Moments later, the Rogers jet touched down, then taxied to the Aviation Services building. Twenty or so parents and friends, some crying, moved to a bank of windows to catch a glimpse of the students. When the jet stopped, they moved outside to the runway. Among the first to get off the jet was Thad, who had crimson-colored wounds across his forehead and a bandage on the back of his head. "My child is home," said Thad's mother, Angie Schultz. "I'm just so relieved that he's here. They've been through a lot of emotional upheaval." She said her son and the other students showed a great deal of maturity and courage in coping with the crash. "He has a great attitude," she said of her son. "He says he's OK and wants to go back to Africa. He said he wanted me to meet him at the airport with a steak, he was so hungry." Thad Schultz was taken to Jewish Hospital, where he was admitted and was being kept overnight. Although Bryant and three of the students could have left Accra earlier, the group elected to stay behind until doctors released Rickey and Thad from the hospital so they could return together. "There was no way that I could leave these two kids," Bryant said. Earlier,U.S. Embassy officials in Ghana had praised Bryant for his role in helping the students through the ordeal. But Bryant would have none of that yesterday. Recalling the moment the bus began to roll over, he said he felt God's presence. "I knew the kids were going to be OK," he said. Listening nearby, Delores Dunbar said: "Thank you." The Associated Press contributed to this story.