The grieving father of a college golfer who died in a Texas crash on Tuesday slammed the dad of a 13-year-old for allowing the teenager to drive the pickup truck that crashed into a van killing nine people.
“That is the very picture of lunacy — to allow a 13-year-old behind the wheel of a pickup traveling down the road at 70 miles per hour at night. That has got to be the zenith of lunacy,” Gary Raines, father of Karisa Raines, who was killed in the collision, told The New York Post on Friday.
Karisa was a 21-year-old avid golfer from Fort Stockton, Texas. She was only a couple of months away from graduating with a bachelor's degree from the University of the Southwest, her father told The Post. Her family is now in the middle of planning her memorial service.
Karisa was one of nine people who lost their lives in the fiery crash near Midland, Texas. She was in a van carrying members of the men's and women's golf teams from the University of the Southwest.
At approximately 8:17 PM, a 13-year-old boy behind the wheel of a pickup truck lost control after a tire blew out, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The board is carrying out an investigation into the incident. The teen's father, Henrich Siemens, was also in the vehicle. Both of them died in the collision.
“(Henrich Siemens) was guilty of not only stupidity and lunacy, but he was also guilty of child abuse, in my opinion. Do I blame the kid for the wreck — I do not. Do I blame the father for the wreck, I do not. I blame the father for not having better sense,” said Gary Raines.
The mother of Laci Stone, who also lost her life during the incident, told the outlet that she isn't sure what to make of the fact that such a young boy was driving the truck that killed her daughter.
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.
