A 13-year-old has been identified as the driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck that crashed into a van in West Texas carrying eight New Mexico golf students, killing nine people and injuring two others.
The teenager was driving at high speeds in the truck, which was using a spare front left tire that blew, causing the vehicle to veer out of its lane and crash into the van, killing six students from the University of the Southwest in New Mexico and their coach, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a media briefing Thursday. The two people in the truck, including the 13-year-old and an adult, also died.
“We know the posted speed limit was 70, 75 miles per hour,” said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the NTSB. “So it’s reasonable to assume, but we don’t do assumptions, that both vehicles were probably moving somewhere close to that speed. However, we will be looking to download both vehicle recorders if they survived and will be able to know exactly.”
TEXAS PRESSES 19 FINANCIAL COMPANIES ON FOSSIL FUEL ‘BOYCOTTS’
Landsberg also revealed that “quite a number” of the students in the van were not wearing seat belts when the collision happened and that one of the van’s passengers was ejected from the vehicle.
A preliminary report with more information about the crash will be released in two to three weeks.
The Texas Department of Public Services released the names of the occupants of both vehicles, except for the 13-year-old due to his minor status, on Wednesday, according to CBS7. Henrich Siemens, 38, was in the truck with the 13-year-old. The coach driving the van was identified as Tyler James, 26. The students were identified as Mauricio Sanchez, 19, Travis Garcia, 19, Jackson Zinn, 22, Karisa Raines, 21, Laci Stone, 18, and Tiago Sousa, 18.
Two students in the van survived the crash. Dayton Price, 19, and Hayden Underhill, 20, were taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, after the accident. Both were reported to be in critical condition.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mourned the nine lives “taken too soon” in a social media post Wednesday. He added that the DPS is working closely with local officials to investigate the crash.
Statement on fatal vehicle crash near Andrews in West Texas: https://t.co/a1QYDoekfO pic.twitter.com/GnxvAqAtFy
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) March 16, 2022
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UMC has not responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
