Officials: 13-year-old was driving truck that crashed into van, leaving 9 people dead

A 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that crashed into a van carrying golfers from the University of the Southwest on Tuesday night in Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

Nine people were killed in the head-on collision: the 13-year-old; a 38-year-old male passenger in the truck; six student golfers; and their coach. Two other students are hospitalized in "stable" condition, University of the Southwest Provost Ryan Tipton said Thursday.

NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said a spare tire on the front left side of the truck blew out before impact, and although it isn't clear how fast the vehicles were going, "this was clearly a high-speed collision." The accident took place on a two-line highway in Andrews County, about 30 miles east of the New Mexico border. The speed limit on the highway is 75 mph.

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In Texas, a person must be at least 14 years old to enroll in driver's education courses for a learner's license and 15 to receive a provisional license, The Associated Press reports.