Crash chucked out the life of a golf coach and six college golfers.
Law enforcement and university officials confirmed that nine people were killed, which included six student golfers and their golf coach when a pickup truck carrying members of a golf team at a university in New Mexico collided with another pickup truck on Tuesday night.
The Texas Department of Police said on Wednesday that Southwestern University men’s and women’s golf students were returning home from a game and suddenly a pickup truck “for unknown reasons” crossed the centerline of a two-lane western Texas and hit their van. Involving sports teams, the wreck was among the worst accidents in recent years. The police further added that both the vehicles were on fire.
The athletic director at the nondenominational Christian university in Hobbs, Steve Appel, N.M., said in a statement, “This will be a huge hurdle that we will all have to overcome, and it will be a very difficult time for many,”. “U.S.W. is a tight-knit family, and I am confident that we will work together to get through this.”
The university later identified and confirmed that the head coach of their golf team Mr. Tyler James was killed in the collision along with the student-athletes Karisa Raines, Tiago Sousa, Mauricio Sanhez, Travis Garcia, Jackson Zinn, and Laci Stone. The oldest student among them was Jackson Zinn of age 22. The remaining others were freshmen at the university.
The university officials said in a statement that 7 of the van’s 9 passengers were killed, while two students were in critical condition and were taken to the hospital by helicopter.
In another vehicle, an unnamed 13-year-old boy and Henrich Siemens,38, were killed.
Stone’s mother said on Facebook, “We’ll never be the same again after this, we just don’t understand how this happened to our amazing, bright, beautiful, cheerful girl,” and also added that one of his best friends also died in the crash. “Please pray for these families too.”
In a statement on Facebook, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said that the fiery crash was “a horribly tragic accident.” She further added, “My prayers are with the community and the families of all involved as we await further information from the authorities,”
With the help of the National Transportation Safety Board, the West Texas Regional Collision Team of the Texas Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
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