Investigators say a Texas man, not his 13-year-old son, was driving the pickup truck that crossed into the oncoming traffic and struck a van carrying New Mexico college golfers, killing nine people in March.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said two days after the March 15th collision that its preliminary findings suggested that the 13-year-old was driving the van that struck the van carrying University of the Southwest students and coaches back to Hobbs, New Mexico from a golf tournament.
The fatal crash happened in Andrews County on Farm-to-Market Road 1788. Both vehicles burst into flames upon collision, investigators said.
But the NTSB said Thursday that DNA testing confirmed that the father, 38-year-old Henrich Siemens of Seminole, Texas was driving the vehicle and that he had methanphetamine in his blood.
Siemens, his son, six students and a coach were killed. Two other student passengers sustained serious injuries but ultimately survived.
The 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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