13-year-old was driving truck that collided with college golf teams in crash that killed nine

A 13-year-old boy was driving the pickup truck that collided with a van carrying two college golf teams, killing nine, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on Thursday.

The board’s vice chairman, Bruce Landsberg, told The Associated Press that the truck that the teen was driving blew a tire prior to it crashing into the van carrying the University of the Southwest’s men’s and women’s golf teams.

Landsberg did not disclose how fast either vehicle was traveling at the time, but confirmed that “this was clearly a high-speed collision.”

In the state of Texas, new drivers must be at least 14 in order to take classes to receive a learner’s driving license. The state also requires that a person must be 15 in order to gain a provisional license that would allow them to operate a vehicle with another licensed adult or instructor in the car, the AP noted.

Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said that the 13-year-old would have been driving illegally, the AP reported.

A faculty member, six students and two other people who were riding in the pickup truck died in the Tuesday evening collision.

The Texas Department of Public Safety reportedly identified seven of the victims as golf coach Tyler James, 26, players Mauricio Sanchez, 19, Travis Garcia, 19, Jackson Zinn, 22, Karisa Raines, 21, Laci Stone, 18, and Tiago Sousa, 18.

Sgt. Steven Blanco from the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday said that two other students were involved in the crash and sustained critical injuries. 

“It’s a very tragic scene,” Blanco said at the time. “It’s very, very tragic.”