NTSB's Landsberg on West Texas crash: 'There's no question about the force of impact'

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According to preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board, a 13-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a truck that crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest golf program. | Unsplash/Max Fleischmann

Preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows that a teenage boy was in the driver's seat of a pickup truck that was involved in a fatal collision with a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest (USW) men's and women's golf teams in Andrews County last week, according to Permian Basin-based media reports. 

According to the NTSB, speed contributed to the March 15 crash that killed six USW golfers and their coach, the 13-year-old driver and the boy's 38-year-old passenger. Midland CBS affiliate KWES reported that the spare left tire of the Dodge 2500 blew, prompting it to veer toward the Ford passenger van used by USW.

"It was very clearly a high-speed, head-on collision between two heavy vehicles," NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said, according to the station. "You won't be able to see the vehicles directly. There's no question about the force of impact."

The NSTB said at a press conference on Thursday (March 17) that the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed.

According to the federal agency, several of the student-athletes weren't wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident.

One of the van's occupants was thrown out of the vehicle upon impact, according to KWES.

KWES reported that the NTSB is deeming the collision a "mass casualty accident." 

According to the agency, the preliminary crash report will be published in at least two weeks while it could take months for all the evidence associated with the crash to be collected.

Investigators will reconstruct the accident site, extract information from the vehicle recorders and speak to witnesses, the station reported.

USW officials said at a press conference that crash survivors Dayton Price and Hayden Underhill are in stable condition.

Both are accompanied by their families, and one of them was able to sit up and eat soup, according to Odessa CBS affiliate KOSA.

University officials also have set up a link for anyone looking to make donations to help the victims' families, the station reported.