(L-R) Dayton Price, Hayden Underhill.Photo: GoFundMe (2)
Two University of the Southwest students survived a fatal car crash in West Texas that killed nine —including six members of their college’s golf teams— and are currently on the road to recovery.
Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga in Ontario, Canada, and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview in Ontario, were taken to local hospitals in critical condition followingTuesday’s accident.
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Golf starBryson DeChambeausaid Wednesday that he would be making a donation to help support the student athlete’s family. “I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families involved in the tragedy. I know this is absolutely devastating,” he said, perTMZ Sports.
On Thursday, Underhill’s parents expressed their gratitude to everyone who has supported them during this difficult time as they shared an update on their son’s recovery.
“He is continuing to make progress and we are grateful to the many people who have expressed their best wishes towards him and our family and have aided us in some way,” they wrote.
“We would also like to pass on our condolences to [the] family of Coach James and to all the members of the Mustangs family that were lost in this tragic incident,” they added. “We also are thinking of Dayton and the Price family as he begins his own recovery.”
(L-R) Dayton Price, Hayden Underhill.University of the Southwest
Although additional details about the extent of the students' injuries have not yet been released, a university official shared that as of Thursday, they were both in stable condition.
“One of the students is eating chicken soup,” University of the Southwest Provost Ryan Tipton told reporters, according toCNN. “I spoke with the parents and they are there with them and they are recovering every day.”
“It’s a game of inches and every hour leads to them one step closer to another day,” Tipton added. “There is no indication as to how long it’s going to take but they are both stable and recovering and every day making more and more progress.”
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The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the victims of the crash on Thursday, which included six members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams and their coach, as well as a 13-year-old boy and his father.
The victims aboard the college transit van were identified as coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, New Mexico; Mauricio Sanchez, 19, of Mexico; Travis Garcia, 19, of Pleasanton, Texas; Jackson Zinn, 22, of Westminster, Colorado; Karisa Raines, 21, of Fort Stockton, Texas; Laci Stone, 18, of Nocona, Texas; and Tiago Sousa, 18, of Portugal.
University of the Southwest
Also killed in the crash were Henrich Siemens, 38, of Seminole, Texas, and his 13-year-old son, who was behind the wheel of the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup truck at the time of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday during apress conference.
An initial investigation found that the pickup truck’s left front tire, which was a spare, blew out moments before the crash.
“The USW campus community is shocked and saddened today as we mourn the loss of members of our university family,” the Christian university shared Wednesday in astatement.
Those interested in donating to Price’s GoFundMe can do sohere. Those interested in donating to Underhill’s can do sohere.
source: people.com
