Several families are mourning the loss of young lives after a fatal car crash in West Texas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified those involved inTuesday’s accident, which resulted in nine deaths, including six members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams and their coach, as well as a 13-year-old boy and his father.
The victims aboard the college transit van were identified as: Coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, New Mexico; 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.
University of the Southwest
Also killed in the crash were Henrich Siemens, 38, of Seminole, Texas, and his 13-year-old son, who was behind the wheel of the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup truck at the time of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday during apress conference. The teenager has not been identified due to his status as a minor.
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Two other students, Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga Ontario, Canada and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview Ontario, Canada, were taken to local Lubbock hospitals in critical condition.
(L-R) Dayton Price, Hayden Underhill.University of the Southwest
“The USW campus community is shocked and saddened today as we mourn the loss of members of our university family,” the Christian university shared Wednesday in astatement.
Raines, a junior majoring in biology, was remembered as a “shining light to everyone she met” in astatementfrom her alma mater Fort Stockton High School shared with CBS 7.
“We will never be the same after this and we just don’t understand how this happened to our amazing, beautiful, smart, joyful girl,” she wrote. “But I do know that she had a relationship with God that everyone could see and I will always hold that near to my heart.”
“The thing about Travis was he worked hard and everyone saw that and it made everyone around him work just as hard as he did,” Pleasanton golf coach Mike Guerra told theSan Antonio Express-News. “Travis was a main reason why we qualified for the state tournament for the first time in the school’s history last year.”
Sanchez, a freshman, previously played for the Pulgas Pandas Golf Club in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
The Mexican Golf Federation shared in astatementWednesday on Twitter that the organization “mourns the sensitive passing of Mauricio Sánchez López, a member of the University of the Southwest golf team and the Pulgas Pandas Golf Club. We extend our deepest condolences to family and friends.”
Sousa, a freshman who previously played at Escola Secundária de Loulé in Loule, Portugal, described himself as “a humble person who never gives up and who is always ready to take on every challenge he is faced with” in a college recruitingprofile.
Zinn, a junior majoring in hospital management with a minor in sports management and an alum of New Mexico Military Institute, volunteered in his spare time with Westminster United Soccer, coaching kids with special needs.
“Devastated does not do justice,” wrote family friend Heather Simms Schichtel in a Facebooktribute. “To know Jackson was to know his sweet nature, his piercing blue eyes, quick wit and dimples you swear could wink. He loved his family, loved golf and was true to his faith. Rumor has it he is playing golf with Jesus, and winning.”
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James was in his first season as head coach of USW’s men’s and women’s golf program. “That was his dream job, to be a head coach and he was living out his dream,” Ryan Erwin, vice president for student engagement and athletics at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, told25 News KXXV.
He previously played for Ottawa University and Howard Payne University with a combined eight top 10 finishes, before receiving his Bachelor of Science in Education from HPU and a Master’s of Science in Kinesiology from East Texas Baptist University, according to his USW Athleticsbiography.
The student athletes were traveling back to school in Hobbs, New Mexico, after playing at a tournament in Midland, Texas. The crash occurred on Tuesday at 8:17 p.m. on a rural highway in Andrews County, Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Blancotold reportersfollowing the incident.
An initial investigation found that the other vehicle’s left front tire, which was a spare, blew out moments before the crash.
source: people.com
