9 killed, including 6 NM college students, in Texas crash
Seven people on a University of the Southwest bus were killed Tuesday night in a head-on collision in Texas, the Hobbs school confirmed. Two others are in critical condition.
The bus was carrying members of the men’s and women’s golf teams, who were traveling back to campus after competing in Midland, Texas, the school announced. The school said nine passengers, including the coach, were on the university vehicle when it was struck “by oncoming traffic.”
The two surviving passengers were airlifted to a hospital in Lubbock.
Texas authorities said six students and a coach from New Mexico were among the nine people who died in the crash. Also killed were the driver and the passenger of the pickup that crossed the center line of the highway and crashed into the bus.
The crash happened in Andrews, Texas, about 54 miles from Hobbs.
Sgt. Steven Blanco, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters Tuesday night that the crash happened shortly after 8 p.m., the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported. He said the University of the Southwest vehicle was traveling north and a Ford F-150 was heading south when they collided. The Texas Highway Patrol’s West Texas Region District Crash Team is investigating the collision.
The University of the Southwest is a private, four-year Christian University located in Hobbs.
“The USW campus community is shocked and saddened today as we mourn the loss of members of our university family,” the university posted on Twitter Wednesday morning.
University officials said counseling staff and the worship team would be available on campus to provide support for students, faculty and staff.
“Please keep the families of students, coaching staff, and the USW community in your prayers as we come together to support one another during this difficult time,” the school said in the statement posted on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source – Albuquerque Journal
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