Truck that killed University of the Southwest golf team members and coach was driven by man with meth in his system
After originally releasing that a 13-year-old boy was driving a pickup truck responsible for a Texas crash that killed six University of Southwest golfers and the coach back in March, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board made a shocking announcement on Thursday — that the boy’s 38-year-old father was driving the truck and he had methamphetamine in his system.
According to an Associated Press story Thursday, the NTSB said that DNA testing confirmed that the father, Henrich Siemens, was driving and that toxicological testing showed the presence of methamphetamine in Siemens’ blood.
The van was carrying school’s team back from a golf tournament. The University of the Southwest is a private Christian university located in Hobbs, New Mexico. Teams were competing at the TankLogix Collegiate at Ranchland Hills Golf Club in Midland, Texas.
Head coach Tyler James, 26, was among those killed. The students who died were identified as: 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. Hayden Underhill, 20, and Dayton Price, 19, remain in the hospital.
Siemens and his son died in the crash, as well.
According to the Associated Press:
The collision happened at about 8:17 p.m. in Andrews County, which is roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Texas’ border with New Mexico. Although it’s a rural area, the roads there are often busy with traffic related to agriculture and oil and gas development.
In the days after the crash, the NTSB had said that the truck’s left front tire blew before impact. But it said Thursday that so far, investigators haven’t found evidence of a loss in tire pressure or any other indicators that the tire failed.
The NTSB said the road they were traveling on consisted of a northbound lane and southbound lane. Near the crash site, the roadway was straight but there was no highway lighting.
The crash is still being investigated to determine the probable case of the crash, the NTSB said.
