New Mexico

9 Dead in Texas Crash Involving U. of Southwest Golf Teams

Six students and a faculty member were killed in the crash along with the driver and a passenger in the pickup truck, authorities said

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Nine people 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.

Those killed in the Tuesday evening crash included University of the Southwest students from Portugal and Mexico. Two Canadian students were hospitalized in critical condition.

A pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road in Andrews County and crashed into a vehicle 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.

The state agency later 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 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. The university-owned Ford passenger van was transporting the teams from a golf tournament in West Texas, Blanco said at the scene, according to video from NBC affiliate KWES of Midland.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

The University of the Southwest is a private, Christian college located in Hobbs, New Mexico, near the state’s border with Texas. The teams had been scheduled to play in a tournament Tuesday at Midland College, about 315 miles (505 kilometers) west of Dallas.

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.

“Otherwise, who knows?” Tonya Collum said. “I told her God has a plan for her and that's why she's OK. We knew all those people on board. Basically the whole team is gone or in the hospital.”

The university said on Twitter that it was working to notify family members of those involved in the crash, and counseling and religious services would be available on campus.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team to the crash site Wednesday, spokesman Eric Weiss said.

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, Weiss said. They 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, he said.

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.

“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.

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.

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.”

The Associated Press/NBC
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