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ANDREWS, Texas — Nine people died in a fiery, head-on collision in West Texas Tuesday evening. Among the dead are six students and a coach from a New Mexico university who were returning home from a golf tournament, CBS DFW reported.
Authorities revealed on Thursday that the driver who was operating the striking vehicle—a pickup truck—was only 13-years-old. Both the teen and his father also died in the horrific crash with the golfers’ van.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a 12-member “go team” to the crash site, including experts in human performance, vehicle and motor carrier factors and accident reconstruction, agency spokesman Eric Weiss said.
The boy was driving illegally on a spare tire before it blew out, according to reports.
The 2007 Dodge pickup truck crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the 2017 Ford Transit van that was towing a box trailer, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.
The team of golfers in the van were returning to University of the Southwest in New Mexico from a tournament in Midland, Texas.
The teen driver and his father, Henrich Siemens, 38, also died in the collision. According to authorities, the pair were heading to pick up a new automobile, the New York Post reported.
“They were going to pick up a car that [Siemens] bought. I was supposed to see him about two hours later,” the man’s widow said.
The college golfers who died in the horrific wreck were identified as Mauricio Sanchez, 19, Travis Garcia, 19, Jackson Zinn, 22, Karisa Raines, 21, Laci Stone, 18, and Tiago Sousa, 18.
Clockwise from top left, Tiago Sousa, Karissa Raines, Laci Stone, Mauricio Sanchez, Jackson Zinn and Travis Garcia all died in the crash. (University of the Southwest)
Two additional students were taken in critical condition by helicopter to a hospital in Lubbock, about 110 miles to the northeast, CBS DFW reported.
The golf team coach who was driving the van was also killed. He was identified as 26-year-old Tyler James.
Coach Tyler James was among the nine killed. (University of the Southwest)
The University of the Southwest is a private, Christian college located in Hobbs, New Mexico, near the state’s border with Texas.
“This was clearly a high-speed collision,” Landsberg said, adding it was presently unclear how fast the vehicles were traveling. However, further analysis and mathematical formulas will be able to determine the speed.
Although preliminary reports indicate the truck crossed the center line, the cause of the crash had not been conclusively determined. Police have ordered toxicology and other forensics reports, Sgt. Steven Blanco of Texas DPS told The Post.
Texas law requires motorists to be at least 15 years old to receive a provisional license, and at least 14 before they can take classes toward a learner’s permit.
The collision reconstruction and subsequent investigation remains ongoing.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com