A road trip turned into a nightmare for a professional baseball team after its charter bus was destroyed in an early morning fire outside a Canadian stadium.
According to the New York Post, authorities in Winnipeg said a 15-year-old girl has been charged after the Kane County Cougars’ team bus was allegedly set on fire while players were asleep at a nearby hotel.
The blaze erupted around 1:50 a.m. near Blue Cross Park, home of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, where the Cougars had parked the bus during their trip to Canada.
When firefighters arrived, the vehicle was already completely engulfed in flames.
Officials said the fire destroyed the entire bus along with everything inside it.
The Cougars later confirmed players lost equipment and personal belongings in the blaze, though no injuries were reported because the team was staying at a hotel when the fire started.
According to ABC7 Chicago, a passerby spotted someone inside the burning bus and helped that person escape before emergency crews arrived.
Police later arrested two teenagers in connection with the incident.
A 15-year-old girl was charged with arson, causing damage to property, and possession of incendiary material.
Authorities said she was later released into “the custody of a responsible adult” under an undertaking, which under Canadian law requires a suspect to comply with court-ordered conditions and appear in court.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service extinguished the blaze.
Despite losing their transportation, the Cougars were still able to continue their trip.
The team said the Winnipeg Goldeyes helped secure a replacement bus so players could travel to Fargo, North Dakota, for a weekend series against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
Meanwhile, the club’s bus company, Windstar, arranged for another vehicle to return the team to Illinois eventually.
The Kane County Cougars are based in Illinois and compete in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league.
Authorities have not released additional details about a possible motive behind the fire.
