NTSB says 13-year old boy was driving pickup truck that crashed, killing 9

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday its investigation had found there was a 13-year old child driving a pickup truck that crashed into a van, killing nine people in Hobbs, Texas.

NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg told reporters the front left tire had blown out before the collision, a possible cause for the pickup truck swerving into a lane of oncoming traffic and striking the van, killing six members of a New Mexico college golf team and their coach, as well as the driver of the pickup truck and an adult man who was traveling with him.

Though it remains unclear at this time how fast either vehicle was traveling at the time of the collision, Landsberg said “this was clearly a high-speed collision.”

Both vehicles reportedly burst into flames on impact. The college students and their coach were returning from a golf tournament when the accident occurred. 

The University of the Southwest, where the golf team went to school, has not publicly commented on the accident yet, citing the ongoing investigation.