Teen Girl Accused of Torching Professional Baseball Team’s Bus While Players Slept Nearby

A professional baseball team’s road trip turned into a nightmare after police say a 15-year-old girl set fire to the team’s charter bus in Canada, leaving the vehicle completely destroyed while players were asleep at a nearby hotel.

The Kane County Cougars, an independent professional baseball team based in Geneva, Illinois, were in Winnipeg for a series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes when the shocking fire broke out.

According to police, the blaze started around 1:50 a.m. outside Blue Cross Park in downtown Winnipeg, where the Cougars’ charter bus was parked during the team’s trip north of the border.

By the time firefighters arrived, the bus was fully engulfed in flames.

The vehicle was eventually reduced to a burned-out shell. Authorities said the entire bus and everything inside it were destroyed.

The team said players lost equipment and personal belongings in the fire, though thankfully, no injuries were reported.

The Cougars had just played the second game of their three-game series against the Goldeyes when the late-night chaos unfolded. While the players were sleeping at their hotel, their bus was burning outside the ballpark.

Police said a bystander spotted someone inside the burning bus and helped that person escape before first responders reached the scene.

Officers later detained two teenagers suspected of deliberately starting the fire.

A 15-year-old girl was charged with arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.

Police said she was later released on an undertaking into the custody of a responsible adult. Under Canadian law, an undertaking is a promise to appear in court and follow certain conditions.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service put out the fire, but the damage had already been done.

The Cougars were left without their bus, their gear, and many personal items in the middle of a road trip.

But the team did get help quickly.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes helped arrange a replacement bus so the Cougars could continue their travel schedule and head to Fargo, North Dakota, for weekend games against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

The team’s Iowa-based bus company, Windstar, is also sending another bus to bring the players back to Illinois after the series.

What started as a routine road trip for an Illinois baseball team ended with a destroyed charter bus, missing equipment, and a teenager facing arson charges.

The Cougars may have lost their bus, but they avoided what could have been a much bigger tragedy.