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Crash involving U. of the Southwest golf teams, 9 dead

Crash

The University of the Southwest students, including one from Portugal and one from Mexico, and the coach were returning from a golf tournament, when a pickup truck crossed the centerline and collided head-on with the vehicle the golf teams were travelling in, the crash scene was horrific. The golf team was traveling in a 2017 Ford Transit van that was towing a box trailer when it collided with the truck, and both vehicles burst into flames, according to NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss. As reported by the AP:

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team to the crash site in Texas’ Andrews County east of the New Mexico state line

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are trying to determine why a pickup truck crossed into the opposite lane on a darkened, two-lane West Texas highway before colliding head-on with a van, killing nine people including six New Mexico university students and a golf coach, as well as a 13-year-old boy.

Emergency responders work the scene of a fatal crash late Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Andrews County, Texas. A vehicle carrying members of the University of the Southwest’s golf teams collided head-on with a pickup truck in West Texas, killing multiple people, authorities said. (NewsWest 9 KWES-TV via AP)

The University of the Southwest students, including one from Portugal and one from Mexico, and the coach were returning from a golf tournament. Also killed in Tuesday evening’s fiery crash were the pickup truck’s driver, while two Canadian students were hospitalized in critical condition.

Emergency responders work the scene of a fatal crash late Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Andrews County, Texas. A vehicle carrying members of the University of the Southwest’s golf teams collided head-on with a pickup truck in West Texas, killing multiple people, authorities said. (NewsWest 9 KWES-TV via AP)

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team to the crash site in Texas’ Andrews County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the New Mexico state line.

The golf team was traveling in a 2017 Ford Transit van that was towing a box trailer when it collided with the truck, and both vehicles burst into flames, according to NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss.

Emergency responders work the scene of a fatal crash late Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Andrews County, Texas. A vehicle carrying members of the University of the Southwest’s golf teams collided head-on with a pickup truck in West Texas, killing multiple people, authorities said. (NewsWest 9 KWES-TV via AP)

He said the vehicles collided on a two-lane asphalt highway where the speed limit is 75 mph (120 kph), though investigators have not yet determined how fast either vehicle was traveling.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the deceased as: Golf coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, New Mexico; and players Mauricio Sanchez, 19, of Mexico; Travis Garcia, 19, of Pleasanton, Texas; Jackson Zinn, 22, of Westminster, Colorado; Karisa Raines, 21, of Fort Stockton, Texas; Laci Stone, 18, of Nocona, Texas; and Tiago Sousa, 18, of Portugal.

The entrance to University of the Southwest is seen on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Hobbs, N.M. A pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the New Mexico state line on Tuesday evening and crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams, said Sgt. Steven Blanco of the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Andy Brosig/The Hobbs Daily News-Sun via AP)

Also killed were Henrich Siemans, 38, of Seminole County, Texas, and an unidentified 13-year-old boy who had been traveling with him in the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup.

Critically injured aboard the van were Canadian students Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga, Ontario, and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview, Ontario. Both were taken by helicopter to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the northeast.

Emergency responders work the scene of a fatal crash late Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Andrews County, Texas. A vehicle carrying members of the University of the Southwest’s golf teams collided head-on with a pickup truck in West Texas, killing multiple people, authorities said. (NewsWest 9 KWES-TV via AP)

Underhill’s brother Drew said their parents, Ken and Wendy, were on a plane headed to Texas.

“Hockey was a big part of life for a while, but his true passion is golf,” Drew Underhill said. “From a small town in Ontario, he’s doing OK.”

The Mexican Federation of Golf posted an online note of condolence to the loved ones of Mauricio Sanchez.

A damaged pickup truck sits on the side of the road at the scene of a fatal car wreck early Wednesday, March 16, 2022 in Andrews County, Texas. A pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the New Mexico state line on Tuesday evening and crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams, said Sgt. Steven Blanco of the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP)

Stone’s mother wrote of her loss on Facebook Wednesday.

“She has been an absolute ray of sunshine during this short time on earth,” Chelsi Stone said in a post. “… We will never be the same after this and we just don’t understand how this happened to our amazing, beautiful, smart, joyful girl.”

The damage bus sits on the side of the road at the scene of a fatal car wreck early Wednesday, March 16, 2022 half of a mile north of State Highway 115 on Farm-to-Market Road 1788 in Andrews County, Texas. A pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the New Mexico state line on Tuesday evening and crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams, said Sgt. Steven Blanco of the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP)

Stone graduated in 2021 from Nocona High School, where she played golf, volleyball and softball. She was a freshman majoring in global business management, according to her biography on the golf team’s website.

James’ mother, June James, said she knew little about the circumstances of the collision. He coached the men and the women.

“We don’t know what happened. It’s a huge investigation. We don’t have any idea as of yet,” James said during a brief phone interview.

A makeshift memorial to the student golfers and University of the Southwest golf coach killed in Tuesday’s fiery crash in Texas is displayed on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at the Rockwind Community Links in Hobbs, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

Team member Jasmin Collum had been scheduled to play but at the last minute decided instead to visit her parents in Houston, her mother said.

“We knew all those people on board,” Tonya Collum said. “Basically, the whole team is gone or in the hospital.”

Rockwind Community Links Manager Ben Kirkes speaks with golfers on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Hobbs, New Mexico. Kirkes knew the golfers and the coach killed in a fiery West-Texas crash Tuesday, because they practiced at the golf course. His staff are mourning the deaths and set up a shrine at the entrance of the course with flowers and golf balls in their honor. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

The University of the Southwest is a private, Christian college located in Hobbs, New Mexico, near the state line with Texas.

A memorial was set up Wednesday at the course near campus where the team practices. There were flowers, golf balls and a handmade sign with a cross and the initials USW.

“It’s the very least we could to for the players, and of course Coach James,” said Rockwind Community Links Manager Ben Kirkes.

Golf balls adorn a makeshift memorial at the Rockwind Community Links, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Hobbs, New Mexico. The memorial was for student golfers and the coach of University of the Southwest killed in a crash in Texas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

“These kids were great kids, and they were great, great community members,” said Kirkes.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Facebook that she is “deeply saddened” by the loss of life.

“This is a terrible accident. As we await additional information from authorities, my prayers are with the community and the loved ones of all those involved,” she said.

Doug McDaniel, recreation director at Rockwinds Community Links in Hobbs, New Mexico, sets a wreath at a memorial to the six golfers and their coach who were killed in an accident, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. McDaniel said Rockwinds staff were out early Wednesday setting up the memorial to the team, which plays and practices at the course. Nine people have died in a fiery, head-on collision in West Texas, including six students and a coach from a New Mexico university who were returning home from a golf tournament, authorities said. (Andy Brosig/Hobbs News-Sun via AP)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also expressed sympathy.

“We grieve with the loved ones of the individuals whose lives were horrifically taken too soon in this fatal vehicle crash near Andrews last night,” Abbott said.

The teams had been taking part in a golf tournament at Midland College, about 315 miles (505 kilometers) west of Dallas.

“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,” University President Quint Thurman said in a statement.

University of the Southwest Mustang banners hang on light poles outside the student life center on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Hobbs, N.M. A pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the New Mexico state line on Tuesday evening and crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams, said Sgt. Steven Blanco of the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Andy Brosig/Hobbs News-Sun via AP)

The university said on Twitter that counseling and religious services would be available on campus.

Midland College said Wednesday’s play would be canceled because of the crash. Eleven schools were participating in the event.

“All of the players and their coaches from the participating schools met together early this morning,” Midland College athletic director Forrest Allen said in a statement Wednesday. “We were all shocked to learn of this tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with USW as they grieve this terrible loss.”

By CEDAR ATTANASIO, JILL BLEED and ANITA SNOW

Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas, and Snow reported from Phoenix. Press writers Jake Bleiberg and Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

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