University of the Southwest coach, players killed in head-on crash remembered in emotional on-campus vigil
A vigil was held on Monday night to remember the six players and coach of the University of the Southwest’s golf teams who were killed last week in a head-on crash in Texas.
More than 100 people gathered on a putting green behind a dorm on campus in Hobbs, New Mexico, according to ESPN, to share memories of the victims. Students and faculty raised cellphone flashlights rather than candles due to the wind, and in the moment of silence one of the mourners yelled, “We love you, Mustangs!”
Steve Appel, the school’s athletic director and baseball coach, asked the group to huddle on the green, where they yelled, “Family!” after a count of three.
“When you go home for school breaks, you don’t miss the town. You miss the people,” said soccer coach Edgar Negrete. “We’re all family. I love you all.”
Last Thursday the National Transportation Safety Board said a 13-year-old boy was driving the pickup truck that caused the collision after its left front tire, a spare, blew before impact. The boy, as well as 38-year-old Henrich Siemens, also died.
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, survived and remain in the hospital.
University of the Southwest provost Ryan Tipton said there are plans for more memorials next week.
