A head-on crash in Texas between a pickup truck and a passenger van carrying a college golf team from New Mexico killed nine people on Tuesday night, including six students and the team's coach, officials said.
A Ford F-150 and a 17-passenger van carrying members of the men's and women's golf teams from the University of the Southwest in New Mexico collided on a two-lane road in Andrews County, Texas, at 8:17 p.m. local time, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Blanco said.
“For unknown reasons, the Dodge pickup drove into the northbound lane and struck the Ford passenger van head on. Both vehicles caught fire and burned,” the Texas DPS said Wednesday in a statement.
The two people in the pick-up truck were killed, officials said. Seven of the nine people aboard the passenger van died, including the team's head coach, a university spokesperson told NBC News.
The other two students were flown to University Medical Center in Lubbock in critical condition, according to a statement by University of the Southwest president Quint Thurman.
Authorities have not released the names of those who died in the crash, which remains under investigation.
The van carrying the golf teams was traveling north and the pickup truck was heading south when they collided, police said. The golf teams had been competing in Midland, Texas, in the Tanklogix Collegiate tournament, according to an Instagram post earlier in the day by the university's athletic department.
Thurman confirmed in a statement that head coach Tyler James and members of the team were killed, while the two other students were airlifted to the hospital.
“We are still learning the details about the accident but we are devastated and deeply saddened to learn about the loss of our students’ lives and their coach,” Thurman said in a statement. “My understanding is that two of our students have survived and have been airlifted to University hospital in Lubbock with serious injuries. We would ask for prayers for their recovery and for comfort and strength for all of families and friends and students of those whose lives have been lost.”
James was in his first season as the head coach of the men’s and women’s golf teams at the university, according to the website of the school, which is located in Hobbs, New Mexico.