NTSB

NTSB: Father, Not 13-Year-Old Boy, Was Driver in Deadly Crash That Killed Golf Team

The van carried men's and women's golf team members from the University of the Southwest located in Hobbs, New Mexico

Nine people died in a fiery, head-on collision in West Texas, including six students and a coach from a New Mexico university who were returning home from a golf tournament, authorities said.
KWES | NBC

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have reviewed DNA results and now say that the driver of the pickup truck involved in the fatal March 15 crash in West Texas that killed nine was not the 13-year-old boy in the truck, but his 38-year-old father, Henrich Siemens.

The NTSB said toxicological testing revealed the presence of methamphetamine in Siemens' blood.

During a briefing on March 17, the NTSB said that it was a 13-year-old boy who was driving when the truck crashed head-on into the van carrying a New Mexico golf team, killing six students and the coach who was driving the van. The boy and his father also died in the fiery crash.

The fatal crash happened in Andrews County when a Dodge pickup truck, occupied by a driver and one passenger, crossed the centerline on Farm-to-Market Road 1788 and collided head-on with a Ford transit van carrying a driver and eight passengers.

A passenger van carrying members of the University of the Southwest’s golf team collided head-on with a pickup truck in West Texas.

The van carried men's and women's golf team members from the University of the Southwest located in Hobbs, New Mexico. The team was traveling from a tournament at Midland College, about 315 miles west of Dallas.

Both vehicles burst into flames upon collision, investigators said. Victims of the crash included the boy and his father, the coach of the golf team, and six student-athletes including a golfer from the North Texas town of Nocona.

Two student passengers sustained serious injuries but ultimately survived.

NTSB said the information in the report is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation continues. Any conclusions and the probable cause will come at a later date when the final report is completed, NTSB said.

The preliminary report is available online here.

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