HOBBS, N.M. — A National Transportation Safety Board official said Thursday that a 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck involved in a fiery crash that killed nine people Tuesday in Andrews County, Texas, The Associated Press is reporting.
NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the teen was behind the wheel Tuesday night when the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup crossed the center line of a highway and crashed head-on with a 2017 Ford Transit van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams, according to the AP. Six students from the New Mexico college, a golf coach, the 13-year-old and a passenger inside the pickup died in the wreck, while two Canadian students were hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said.
Landsberg added that the truck’s front left tire had been a spare tire, which blew out before the vehicles collided, the AP reported. He did not specify how fast the vehicles had been traveling, but described the incident as “a high-speed collision,” according to the news agency.
In Texas, a person must be at least 14 years old to begin taking classes for a learner’s permit and 15 to be licensed to drive with an adult present, the AP reported. Driving as a 13-year-old is against the law, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said.
DPS officials identified the victims as golf coach Tyler James, 26, of New Mexico; and golf players Mauricio Sanchez, 19, of Mexico; Travis Garcia, 19, of Texas; Jackson Zinn, 22, of Colorado; Karisa Raines, 21, of Texas; Laci Stone, 18, of Texas; and Tiago Sousa, 18, of Portugal. Heinrich Siemens, 38, of Texas, also died, according to the AP. The 13-year-old’s name was not released.
The golf teams had been returning from a golf tournament in Midland, Texas, officials said.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.