Members of College Golf Team Identified After Texas Crash Kills 9, Including 13-Year-Old Driver
Several families are mourning the loss of young lives after a fatal car crash in West Texas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified those involved in Tuesday's accident, which resulted in nine deaths, including 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.
RELATED: Multiple People Dead After Bus Carrying University of the Southwest's Golf Teams Crashes
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 a press conference. The teenager has not been identified due to his status as a minor.
For more on this story, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.
Two other students, Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga Ontario, Canada and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview Ontario, Canada, were taken to local Lubbock hospitals in critical condition.
University of the Southwest (L-R) Dayton Price, Hayden Underhill
"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 a statement.
Raines, a junior majoring in biology, was remembered as a "shining light to everyone she met" in a statement from her alma mater Fort Stockton High School shared with CBS 7.
"She was my baby, and I don't know what I'm going to do without her," her mother Sandy Raines told Today. "Right now we just keep thinking that every once, well, we're going to wake up from this terrible nightmare, but it's not happening," her father Gary Raines added.
Stone, a freshman majoring in global business management, was described by her mother Chelsi Stone as "an absolute ray of sunshine during this short time on earth" in a Facebook tribute post.
"We will never be the same after this and we just don't understand how this happened to our amazing, beautiful, smart, joyful girl," she wrote. "But I do know that she had a relationship with God that everyone could see and I will always hold that near to my heart."
"Right before we took Laci back to college she begged me to get a matching tattoo with her. I almost chickened out because I'm a baby but I went through with it. She of course is so strong that she didn't even move. I'm so forever grateful that God gave me the courage to go through with it and always have this memory with her. We will appreciate every prayer we can get and we love you all. If you know laci at all you know she is probably having the biggest karaoke party she can and singing Whitney at the top of her lungs," Chelsi wrote.
Colby Schniederjan, her former golf coach at Nocona High School, told Today there was "never a dull moment with Laci," adding: "She joked and sang and lived life to the fullest, and it's going to be really hard not to have her around anymore. Tough thing to deal with right now."
Garcia, a freshman majoring in criminal justice, was remembered by Pleasanton Independent School District athletic director Tab Dumont as "a phenomenal golfer and great kid" in a statement to NBC News, adding that he "comes from a great family. His mother used to work in the district and Travis was doing great things in college and in life."
"The thing about Travis was he worked hard and everyone saw that and it made everyone around him work just as hard as he did," Pleasanton golf coach Mike Guerra told the San Antonio Express-News. "Travis was a main reason why we qualified for the state tournament for the first time in the school's history last year."
Sanchez, a freshman, previously played for the Pulgas Pandas Golf Club in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
The Mexican Golf Federation shared in a statement Wednesday on Twitter that the organization "mourns the sensitive passing of Mauricio Sánchez López, a member of the University of the Southwest golf team and the Pulgas Pandas Golf Club. We extend our deepest condolences to family and friends."
Sousa, a freshman who previously played at Escola Secundária de Loulé in Loule, Portugal, described himself as "a humble person who never gives up and who is always ready to take on every challenge he is faced with" in a college recruiting profile.
Zinn, a junior majoring in hospital management with a minor in sports management and an alum of New Mexico Military Institute, volunteered in his spare time with Westminster United Soccer, coaching kids with special needs.
"Devastated does not do justice," wrote family friend Heather Simms Schichtel in a Facebook tribute. "To know Jackson was to know his sweet nature, his piercing blue eyes, quick wit and dimples you swear could wink. He loved his family, loved golf and was true to his faith. Rumor has it he is playing golf with Jesus, and winning."
RELATED VIDEO: Girl, 11, Speaks Out After Dad's Bear Hug Saves Her Life in Airplane Crash
James was in his first season as head coach of USW's men's and women's golf program. "That was his dream job, to be a head coach and he was living out his dream," Ryan Erwin, vice president for student engagement and athletics at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, told 25 News KXXV.
He previously played for Ottawa University and Howard Payne University with a combined eight top 10 finishes, before receiving his Bachelor of Science in Education from HPU and a Master's of Science in Kinesiology from East Texas Baptist University, according to his USW Athletics biography.
The student athletes were traveling back to school in Hobbs, New Mexico, after playing at a tournament in Midland, Texas. The crash occurred on Tuesday at 8:17 p.m. on a rural highway in Andrews County, Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Blanco told reporters following the incident.
An initial investigation found that the other vehicle's left front tire, which was a spare, blew out moments before the crash.
