- A 13-year-old driver and his father died in a Texas crash on Tuesday night.
- The family "lost everything" in 2021 when their house burned down in a fire, a local pastor told NBC News.
- Six University of the Southwest golfers and their coach, traveling for a tournament, were also killed.
The family of a 13-year-old driver who died in a Texas crash on Tuesday that also killed several members of a New Mexico college's golf teams "lost everything" in a fire last year, according to a local pastor, per NBC News.
The child, who has not yet been identified, died in the collision alongside his 38-year-old father Henrich Siemens, NBC News reported.
Jake Fehr, a pastor at the Mennonite Evangelical Church in Seminole, Texas, told NBC News the family was struck by another tragedy late last year.
"The whole house burned down. They lost everything in that home," he said, adding that the 13-year-old driver had siblings.
NBC News reported that Siemen's wife, Agatha, posted on Facebook in December asking how to get photos of a computer damaged in the fire. Further details on the fire are not currently available, the media outlet noted.
On Wednesday, the mother posted a tribute to her family on Facebook. "In Loving Memory," it said, per NBC News.
Tuesday night's crash killed nine people in total, including the coach and six members of a University of the Southwest men's and women's golf teams, said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg, according to AP.
The van carrying the student golfers and the pickup truck being driven by the 13-year-old both burst into flames after the collision, an NTSB spokesperson said, AP reported.
The crash is being described as a "high-speed collision," Landsberg told AP. NTSB officials are hoping to obtain data from vehicle recorders to determine how fast the vehicles were driving before the accident, NBC News said.
An early investigation indicates that the left front tire of the truck had been replaced by a spare wheel, which seemed to have failed, causing the truck to swerve in front of the van, Landsberg said, NBC News reported.
A preliminary report will be released within three weeks, Landsberg said, but a final report on the crash could take up to 18 months to be released.
The Texas Department of Public Safety concluded that the 13-year-old was the individual driving the truck based on identifying the remains in the driver seat of the 2007 Dodge 2500, Landsberg noted, per NBC News.
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said a 13-year-old driving would be breaking state law, AP reported.
Minors need to be 14 to start taking courses for a learner's permit and 15 to receive a provisional license to drive with an instructor or licensed adult over the age of 21.
Dit artikel is oorspronkelijk verschenen op z24.nl