University of the Southwest golf coach Tyler James and six students were among nine people killed in a car crash on Tuesday night in West Texas, according to a report by ESPN.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the crash occurred when a Dodge 2500 pickup truck being driven by a 13-year old boy suffered a left front tire failure, causing it to veer across the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County where it collided with a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest's men's and women's golf teams. The ensuing collision resulted in both vehicles catching fire and burning.
Per CBS7, the deceased included golf coach Tyler James, 26, who had been driving the van as well as six students: Mauricio Sanchez (19), Travis Garcia (19), Jackson Zinn (22), Karisa Raines (21), Laci Stone (18), and Tiago Sousa (18). The 13-year old boy and the passenger in the Dodge, 38-year old Heinrich Siemens, were also killed in the crash. The identity of the boy has not been released due to his status as a minor.
Two other passengers in the van and members of the University of the Southwest golf team -- 19-year old Dayton Price and 20-year old Hayden Underhill -- survived the crash and were transported via helicopter to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas in critical condition. Both are said to now be stable, with one of them able to sit up and eat soup.
"We are still learning the details about the accident but we are devastated and deeply saddened to learn about the loss of our students' lives and their coach," read a statement by University of the Southwest president Quint Thurman on Wednesday.
The University of the Southwest team had been returning home from a tournament and were next scheduled to play in a Wednesday tournament at Midland College. As a result of the accident, Midland College announced that Wednesday's event had been cancelled.
Tuesday night's accident occurred in the same area -- but not the same roadway -- as another fatal accident involving a school team. Last November, the Andrews High School band director and two others were killed when a pickup truck crashed into a school bus carrying the school's band.
