9 folks have been killed in a head-on taking pictures collision in West Texas, authorities mentioned, together with six college students and a coach from the College of New Mexico who have been returning house from a golf match.
A pickup truck crossed the middle line of a two-lane street in Andrews County, about 30 miles east of the New Mexico state line, Tuesday night and collided with a truck carrying members of the Southwest College males’s and ladies’s golf groups, Sgt mentioned. Stephen Blanco of the Texas Division of Public Security.
Blanco mentioned six college students who have been within the group automotive have been killed, together with one college member. Blanco mentioned the truck driver and passenger have been additionally killed. Two college students in crucial situation have been flown by helicopter to a hospital in Lubbock, about 110 miles to the northeast.
“It is a very tragic sight,” Blanco mentioned. “It is extremely tragic.”
College president Quint Thurman mentioned in an announcement earlier Wednesday that the group’s automotive was pushed by golf coach Tyler James and that James was among the many useless.
“We’re nonetheless studying the main points of the incident, however we’re shocked and deeply saddened to study extra in regards to the lack of the lives of our college students and their coach,” Thurman mentioned in an announcement.
Company spokesman Eric Weiss mentioned the Nationwide Transportation Security Board will ship a 12-member group to the crash website, together with specialists in human efficiency, car elements, car carriers, and accident reconstruction. He mentioned the group is predicted to reach late Wednesday afternoon or early night.
“We’ll attempt to discover out not simply what occurred, however why it occurred, so we will forestall issues like this from occurring sooner or later,” Weiss mentioned.
The golf groups have been scheduled to play a championship at Midland School, about 315 miles west of Dallas.
Midland School mentioned Wednesday’s play can be canceled as a result of incident. 11 colleges take part on this occasion.
“All gamers and their coaches from the taking part colleges gathered collectively early this morning,” Midland School athletic director Forrest Allen mentioned in an announcement. “We’re all shocked to study of this tragedy, and our ideas and prayers are with the USW as they mourn this horrible loss.”
New Mexico Governor Michelle Logan Grisham mentioned on Fb that she was “deeply saddened” by the lack of life.
“This can be a horrific incident. As we await further info from the authorities, my ideas are with the group and family members of all concerned,” she wrote.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott additionally expressed his sympathy, saying: “We’re saddened by the family members of the people whose lives have been taken horribly so early within the deadly automotive accident close to Andrews final night time.”
The accident occurred in the identical space – however not the identical street – the place three folks have been killed in November when a pickup truck collided with a college bus carrying members of the Andrews Excessive Faculty squad. The highschool squad supervisor, college bus driver and pickup truck driver died in that accident.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
