An early morning fire outside Winnipeg's Blue Cross Park wiped out the Kane County Cougars' charter bus, turning a routine road trip into a travel scramble for the suburban Chicago ballclub.
The 56-seat motorcoach went up in flames around 1:50 a.m. Thursday in a lot near the ballpark, where the Cougars were in town for a three-game series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Winnipeg firefighters knocked down the blaze, and no one was hurt, but the bus was a total loss. Police arrested two teenagers at the scene and said a 15-year-old girl now faces charges of arson, causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.
Officers called to reports of a vehicle fire found the tour coach burning in a lot at 1 Portage Avenue, outside Goldeyes Stadium. Investigators with the Major Crimes Unit determined the fire was intentionally set, and said the entire bus and everything on board were destroyed. The teen who was charged was released on an undertaking into the custody of a responsible adult, according to the Winnipeg Police Service.
Owner Counts Cost Of Charred Coach
Windstar Lines, which operated the 2022 Van Hool motorcoach, said the burned-out bus represents a serious financial hit, estimating the loss at about US$425,000. The family-owned company said it is cooperating with investigators.
"We have been in business for 31 years and we have never had anything like this happen," Windstar president Jeff Greteman told the Winnipeg Free Press. Windstar said it would send another coach to link up with the Cougars later in their trip.
Cougars Hitch A Ride To Keep Season Moving
With their bus reduced to a shell, the Cougars' front office spent the day taking stock of what was lost and what could still go wrong.
Curtis Haug, the Cougars' vice president and general manager, said staff catalogued team gear destroyed in the fire and confirmed that no passports had been left on the coach. Haug said the Goldeyes organization and its general manager quickly stepped up, arranging a Beaver Bus Lines coach to get the Cougars to Fargo, while Windstar organized a replacement driver to meet the team there.
"It was pretty much disbelief," Haug said of the first word that the bus was on fire, as reported by the Winnipeg Free Press.
Teen Faces Arson Charge, Released On Undertaking
The 15-year-old girl is charged with arson, causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material, and Winnipeg police say the investigation is still underway. Detectives have not publicly discussed a possible motive.
Authorities said she was released on an undertaking, a legal promise that she will appear in court and obey specific conditions, and turned over to a responsible adult, according to CBS Chicago.
League On The Move, Until A Bus Goes Up
The Kane County Cougars play in the independent American Association of Professional Baseball. The Winnipeg Goldeyes are the league's only Canadian team, which means clubs routinely cross the United States Canada border throughout the season.
The league and its teams rely heavily on charter operators like Windstar to shuttle players and staff from city to city, so losing a coach this way is a major logistical headache, according to the league site AABaseball.
