NTSB says 13-year-old was driving truck in crash involving University of the Southwest golf teams

play

The vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that a 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck the van and killed nine people.

The spare tire on the left front of the truck blew out before the impact. This was clearly a high-speed collision, even though it was unclear how fast the two vehicles were traveling.

To get a license to drive with an adult in the vehicle, one must be 14 years old in Texas and take classroom courses. A 13-year-old would be breaking the law if they drove.

A boy and a man were killed when the pickup truck crossed into the opposite lane on a dark, two-lane highway and hit a van.

The University of the Southwest students, including one from Portugal and one from Mexico, and the coach were returning from a golf tournament when the crash occurred Tuesday night. Two Canadian students were hospitalized.

The crash site in Texas is 30 miles east of the New Mexico state line.

The men's and women's golf teams were traveling in a van that was towing a box trailer when it collided with a truck and both vehicles burst into flames. He said the vehicles collided on a two-lane asphalt highway where the speed limit is 75 mph, though investigators have not yet determined how fast either vehicle was traveling.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the dead as: golf coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, New Mexico; and players Mauricio Sanchez, 19, of Mexico; and Karisa Raines, 21, of Fort Stockton.

The unidentified 13-year-old boy who was in the Dodge 2500 pickup was also killed.

Two Canadian students were critically injured in the van. The University Medical Center in Lubbock is about 120 miles to the northeast.

The two injured students are stable and making progress every day, according to the University of the Southwest provost.

The Mexican Federation of Golf posted a note of sympathy to the loved ones of Mauricio. The head of the Escola Secundaria de Loule said that Sousa graduated from high school in Portugal and went to college in the U.S.

She said that any school would be happy to have had him as a student.

The University of the Southwest is located in New Mexico near the Texas state line. There is a memorial at the course where the team practices. There was a sign with a cross and the initials USW.

Rockwind Community Links manager Ben Kirkes said it was the least they could do for the players and James.

New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham said on Facebook that she was deeply sad by the loss of life.

This is a terrible accident. My prayers are with the community and the loved ones of all those involved, she said.

Texas Gov. Abbott expressed his sympathies.

We grieve with the loved ones of the individuals whose lives were taken too soon in this fatal vehicle crash, Abbott said.

The teams were playing in a golf tournament at a college in the west of the state. The play would be canceled because of the crash. The schools were participating in the event.