Posted on 03/17/2022 5:04:50 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in West Texas in a fiery collision that killed nine people, including six members of a college golf team and their coach, a National Transportation Safety Board official said Thursday.
The child and a man traveling in the truck also died.
The truck's left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before impact, said NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.
The men's and women's golf teams were 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.
He said the vehicles crashed on a two-lane asphalt highway where the speed limit is 75 mph, though investigators have not yet determined how fast either vehicle was traveling.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
How many were US Citizens?
“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.
“Also killed were Henrich Siemens, 38, of Seminole County, Texas, and the unidentified 13-year-old boy who were 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.”
NTSB said Thursday that a 13-year-old [Mennonite] boy was driving the pickup truck that hit the van near Andrews, Texas
He was in the car with his father Heinrich Siemens, 38. Both died, with seven people in a bus they crashed into also losing their lives after Tuesday night's smash
This is the second tragedy to befall the family recently. Before Christmas 2021, the boy burned the family house to the ground after he left the stove unattended while cooking some eggs, according to a family friend
‘Tina Riemer wrote on Facebook that the “sweet 13 year old boy who lost his life in this accident was my nephew. He was great friends with my son. He loved dirt bikes, working anything mechanical. His knowledge for a 13 year old was impressive when it came to working on diesel tricks and cars. He was super smart in that area. He was hard working and a good big brother. A wonderful friend and cousin to my son.”’
https://heavy.com/news/henrich-siemens/
Spare tire? I’ve seen cars here in New Mexico sporting two at a time. Know why they’re called temporary spares? You can only get a couple hundred miles out of them.
The egg-cooking fire story sounds like the kind of excuse you come up with when your “problem child” is “acting out.”
Hate to think about it, but I wonder if the kid drove into the van on purpose.
OMG, how incredibly stupid of the boy and the man.
If it was a typical emergency spare (low diameter) they are specifically prohibited from running even at 55 mph. (40 miles max distance I believe.) Much less 75!
If it were a cobbled replacement (regular tire was flat, another “ordinary tire” substituted) it could be any size, any mismatch as well.
An old worn front tire blowout at high speed on a two lane road with a large pickup is something an adult male of good size and ten years driving experience would have a hard time handling. A thirteen yer old? Forget it.
Terribly irresponsible of his parents to have him driving. They should loose everything they own and ten times over it would not be enough for such negligence.
He was not so sweet to be breaking the law and killing a ton of people.
I agree with you.
The father was sick in the head and the son was a seed you wouldn’t want planted anywhere.
Most trucks have a full size spare, which likely had been tucked up under the truck since day one. The southwest is tough on tires. I’ve had ones start to fail after 3 years being outside in the sun. Dry rot, tread separation, not uncommon.
Demon possession? Sounds like a possible case of it.
I can't even begin to think what possessed the father and the kid to believe that this sort of driving stunt was OK.
Tina Reimer is going to get roasted for that Fecesbuch post.
Epitaph: “It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time”
I find it odd that the 13 y.o. boy isn’t the son - or, at least isn’t identified as the son - of the 38 y.o. man …. usually, they’ll say something like…the owner of the truck…joe smith…allowed his 13 y. o. son to drive the vehicle.
I recently returned to the mainland on personal business.
I drove through WA, OR, NV, and ID. One road in NV highway 93, I think it was 75MPH posted. Two lane no divider. A tire failure at that speed doesn’t give you a lot of time regardless of who is driving.
Even at 55 they would have died(no seat belts being worn).
No laws could save you when you do stupid and ride on bad equipment or don’t use the safety stuff you have.
A 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van
and then....
The men's and women's golf teams were traveling in a 2017 Ford Transit van that was towing a box trailer when it collided with the truck,
Well, which is it?
The article said that they believe the right front tire (a spare tire replacement) blew out before the accident. I.e., the tire blow out probably caused the truck to go out of control (and they probably were driving too fast using a spare). A very accident prone lad...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.