Authorities try to find out why a pickup truck crossed into the alternative lane on a darkened, two-lane West Texas freeway earlier than colliding head-on with a van, killing 9 individuals, together with six New Mexico college college students and a golf coach, in addition to a 13-year-old boy.
The College of the Southwest college students, together with one from Portugal and one from Mexico, and the coach have been coming back from a golf event. Additionally killed in Tuesday night’s fiery crash have been the pickup truck’s driver, whereas two Canadian college students have been hospitalized in important situation.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board was sending an investigative group to the crash web site in Texas’ Andrews County, about 30 miles east of the New Mexico state line.
The golf group was touring in a 2017 Ford Transit van that was towing a field trailer when it collided with the truck, and each autos burst into flames, in response to NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss.
He mentioned the autos collided on a two-lane asphalt freeway the place the pace restrict is 75 mph, although investigators haven't but decided how briskly both car was touring.
The Texas Division of Public Security recognized the useless as golf coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, N.M., and gamers Mauricio Sanchez, 19, of Mexico; Travis Garcia, 19, of Pleasanton, Texas; Jackson Zinn, 22, of Westminster, Colo.; Karisa Raines, 21, of Fort Stockton, Texas; Laci Stone, 18, of Nocona, Texas; and Tiago Sousa, 18, of Portugal.
Additionally killed have been Henrich Siemans, 38, of Seminole County, Texas, and an unidentified 13-year-old boy who had been touring with him within the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup.
Critically injured aboard the van have been Canadian college students Dayton Value, 19, of Mississauga, Ontario, and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview, Ontario. Each have been taken by helicopter to the College Medical Heart in Lubbock, Texas, about 110 miles to the northeast.
Underhill’s brother Drew mentioned their dad and mom, Ken and Wendy, have been on a aircraft headed to Texas.
“Hockey was a giant a part of life for some time, however his true ardour is golf,” Drew Underhill mentioned. “From a small city in Ontario, he’s doing OK.”
The Mexican Federation of Golf posted a web based notice of condolence to the family members of Sanchez.
Stone’s mom wrote of her loss on Fb on Wednesday.
“She has been an absolute ray of sunshine throughout this brief time on earth,” Chelsi Stone mentioned in a submit. “We are going to by no means be the identical after this and we simply don’t perceive how this occurred to our wonderful, lovely, sensible, joyful woman.”
Stone graduated in 2021 from Nocona Excessive College, the place she performed golf, volleyball and softball. She was a freshman majoring in international enterprise administration, in response to her biography on the college golf group’s web site.
Golf group member Jasmin Collum had been scheduled to play however on the final minute determined as an alternative to go to her dad and mom in Houston, her mom mentioned.
“We knew all these individuals on board,” Tonya Collum mentioned. “Principally the entire group is gone or within the hospital.”
The College of the Southwest is a personal, Christian school situated in Hobbs, N.M., close to the state line with Texas.
A memorial was arrange Wednesday on the course close to campus the place the group practices. There have been flowers, golf balls and a hand-crafted signal with a cross and the initials USW.
The group had been participating in a golf event at Midland School, about 315 miles west of Dallas. Eleven faculties have been collaborating within the occasion.
“We're nonetheless studying the main points concerning the accident however we're devastated and deeply saddened to be taught concerning the lack of our college students’ lives and their coach,” College of the Southwest President Quint Thurman mentioned in a press release.
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