Melvin Discusses Bus Crash In China

WashingtonMystics.com: Can you describe what happened on the bus ride in China?
Chasity Melvin: Well as usual the driving here in China is pretty bad. I guess the educating of drivers over here is a little bit different than the States. They don�t have many rules on the highway, people just turn and get over and don�t use signals. So I�m always pretty alert when I�m riding on a bus or riding in a car. Our driver was driving really fast and crazy and we were just driving to our next city. There was a car in front of us and our driver was trying to get him to move over, when he didn�t move over we tried to pass him and at that moment the truck finally started to move over and then we crashed into the truck and through the rail, down the side of a hill and crashed into the gutter.

WashingtonMystics.com: Obviously everything with you is ok, what were some of the injuries that other players on your team have?
CM: When we ran off the road we were kind of on a hill so there were rails. So when we ran off the road we crashed into the rail and the rail on the side of the road busted through the window. It kind of crushed all the seats on the right side and the glass. It was really loud and just crazy. All my teammates and my trainer got stuck under the chairs. I guess the rail hit them and that�s how they all got knee and leg injuries. My trainer lost his foot, they had to amputate it. I unfortunately couldn�t help him but when I got off the bus I helped my other teammates off the bus. My teammates were really thankful, but there was nothing wrong with me so of course I was going to help them off the bus. There wasn�t a big explosion or fire so I was obviously going to help them.

WashingtonMystics.com: Now you have a tradition of always driving directly behind the driver can you talk about that and how did that help you in the crash??
CM: You know how you have a backseat driver in the car that sits behind you and gets on your nerves. Well I try to be that on the bus. I never fall asleep on the bus because they drive crazy. Usually I�m telling them to slow down and that type of stuff. Fortunately for me that night, when we ran off the road, we ran off the road on the right side and I was on the left side of the bus. There was a gutter that kind of stopped us on the right end. So everyone that got injured was on the right side of the bus.

WashingtonMystics.com: What was going through your head as the bus started to go off the road?
CM: I was pretty calm when I saw everything happen. I was just sitting there and I just braced myself with my book bag. I sat there praying that it wasn�t going to be really bad and that whatever happened I would stay alive. I kind of said something earlier in the trip, but that happens all the time on these drives and every time I say something my teammates always say �No problem Chas�No problem.� I�ve kind of gotten used to it in a way. Everything happened in the flash of an eye and it was just unbelievable.

WashingtonMystics.com: What type of contact have you had with your teammates and fans since the incident?
CM: The first person that said anything was Swin Cash because she is playing over here and she tweeted about it. I wasn�t going to really say anything because I didn�t want anyone to worry because I was ok, but after she tweeted about it so I decided to write a blog about it. Most of my teammates after that tweeted me and told me they were glad I was ok. I actually got a lot of comments on Facebook. From friends and people who read my blog. I�m just blessed to be here and be healthy. I didn�t have a season ending injury or anything like that in the crash because it could have been a lot worse. I�m just ready to finish the season. The team was really distraught at first and they cancelled our next game, but now we are back and ready to finish out the season. We have six games left and I�ll be heading back in a little less than three weeks.

WashingtonMystics.com: Outside of the accident, how has your experience been in China?
CM: Well this is my second stint in China. I was here in 2008 but I was in the South. Now I�m in the North part of China and it is really cold here like -3 degrees. It has been a really different experience this time around. The country is huge. I get to travel all over China, I love the way they decorate the buildings. The architecture over here is really nice, but it is a very crowded place.

WashingtonMystics.com: How is the food in China compared to what we have here in Chinatown?
CM: The Chinese food is of course much different here in China. It is much better here in China. After my first time here in China I didn�t have Chinese food when I came back to the states. They cook everything with different spices and I don�t know exactly how they cook it. But the fish is always good, the vegetables are always fresh.

WashingtonMystics.com: Have you seen Jacinta Monroe who is also playing in China?
CM: I hung out with J in Beijing. I told her about the markets there. She is in a good place, but it is really cold. It has been really cold here in China this year so she�s hasn�t gone out too much since she got here.

WashingtonMystics.com: You�ve now played overseas in lots of different countries what is your favorite country to play in and why?
CM: Well I�ve played in about 8 or 9 different countries but my favorite would have to be Israel. I liked everything about it. First of all when you are in Europe you have to travel so much for the games, in Israel the country is so small so the furthest you have to travel is about 45 minutes for a game. You have all the great food there, all the different cultures, everybody speaks English. You have the mountains, beaches, and the Dead Sea. There is so much to do in such a small place to do it.