Driver in Crash That Killed Nine Was Only 13 Years Old

A jarring revelation in a deadly crash: The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that a 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in West Texas in a fiery collision that killed nine people, per the AP. The truck’s left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before impact, said NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg. One must be 14 in Texas to start taking classroom courses for a learner’s license and 15 to receive a provisional license to drive with an instructor or licensed adult in the vehicle. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said a 13-year-old driving would be breaking the law.

Although it was unclear how fast the two vehicles were traveling, “this was clearly a high-speed collision,” Landsberg said. The pickup crossed into the opposite lane on a darkened, two-lane highway before colliding head-on with a van. Among the dead were six New Mexico college students and a golf coach, as well as the 13-year-old boy and a man who was in the pickup with him. The University of the Southwest students, including one from Portugal and one from Mexico, and the coach were returning from a golf tournament. Two Canadian students were hospitalized in critical condition. (Read about the victims here.)