Student athletes dead in Texas crash

The victims of a head-on collision in West Texas include six students and a coach of the golf team from University of the Southwest, a private Christian college in New Mexico. Two students were airlifted to a hospital and were still in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon. The team was returning from a golf tournament near Dallas.

What happened? The wreck occurred when a pickup truck crossed the centerline of a two-lane road and struck the team’s van about 30 miles east of the New Mexico state line Tuesday evening. Both vehicles burst into flames, and the driver and the passenger in the pickup truck also died. The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will send a 12-member “go team” to investigate the crash site. The agency expects to release a preliminary report within a month and full investigation results in 18 to 24 months.