13-Year-Old Driving Truck In TX Bus Crash That Killed 9: NTSB

ANDREWS, TX — The driver of the truck involved in a fiery Texas bus crash that killed nine people Tuesday night was a 13-year-old, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at a news conference Thursday.

The teen was driving the truck southbound on FM 1788 near Andrews, Texas, when the left front tire, which was a spare, failed and the truck moved into the northbound lane, striking the bus, according to the NTSB.

The minimum age to take driver's education courses in Texas is 14, and minors can't earn a learner's permit until they are 15, according to state law.

The bus was carrying the coach and eight members of the University of the Southwest's golf teams, who were returning to campus in Hobbs, New Mexico, from a tournament in Midland, Texas. Seven of the nine people on the bus were killed, as were both people in the truck.

"It was very clearly a high-speed, head-on collision between two heavy vehicles," Landsberg said. "There is no question about the force of impact."

The truck was a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500, and the golf team was in a 2017 11-passenger transit bus that was towing an eight-foot cargo trailer, authorities said. Both cars were engulfed in flames.

Several people on the bus were not wearing seatbelts, and at least one person was ejected from the bus, according to Landsberg.

An NTSB investigative team will be on site for several days to gather evidence and interview witnesses, and the initial report will be published in two to three weeks. Following an in-depth investigation, the final report and a probably cause determination will be available in a year to a year and a half. The NTSB is not involved in criminal aspects of the investigation, according to Landsberg.

"The carnage on our highways exceeds any other mode of transportation," Landsberg said. "In no other mode would we tolerate a hundred-plus fatalities each and every day. Thousands more [suffer] life-altering injuries, including severe burns and amputations. We think it's high time we started to take our driving more seriously."

A donation has been set up in support of the victims and families of the USW golf teams. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so here.