A 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in West Texas in a devastating collision on Tuesday, ending the lives of nine people, NBC News reports.
The van, which had been carrying members of a New Mexico university's golf teams, was hit by a truck that had a spare wheel in lieu of its left front tire, according to National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.
According to an initial investigation, it appears that this spare tire had failed, causing the truck to swerve in front of the van.
"A 13-year-old child was behind the wheel of the pickup truck," Landsberg said during a Thursday news conference.
"No matter how many times we go through one of these investigations, we understand the gravity and the tremendous pain that goes along with," Landsberg added, per CBS News.
It is believed that this wheel was not an emergency-use "doughnut" spare, but was similar to the remainder of the tires. The left front tire contained a steel rim that remained unscathed after the collision whereas the other three tires sustained substantial damage.
Inside the van were members of the University of the Southwest men's and women's golf teams, who were on their way to a tournament.
Six of the student-athletes tragically lost their lives in the crash, along with a coach. The 13-year-old who was behind the wheel of the pickup truck as well as passenger in the truck, 38-year-old Henrich Siemens, also died in the crash.
Despite an "extensive" fire in both the van and the truck which started following the crash, officials were able to identify the driver by the size of the remains. In Texas, students are able to start the classroom portion of drivers education when they are 14 years old, however, they have be 15 or over to qualify for a learner's permit.
On Wednesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the victims who succumbed to their injuries as Tyler James, 26; Mauricio Sanchez, 19; Travis Garcia, 19; Jackson Zinn, 22; Karisa Raines, 21; Laci Stone, 18; and Tiago Sousa, 18.
Dayton Price, 19, and Hayden Underhill, 20, the two other people in the van, were in critical condition. Landsberg was not able to give an update on their condition Thursday.
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