A 13-yr.-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in Texas, killing nine people, says NTSB

[TexasTowelie]

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said Thursday that a 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in West Texas in a fiery collision that killed nine people.

The truck’s left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before impact, Landsberg said.

One must be 14 in Texas to start taking classroom courses for a learner’s license and 15 to receive that provisional license to drive with instructor or licensed adult in the vehicle. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said a 13-year-old driving would be breaking the law.

The speed limit at the crash site was 70 mph. Although it was unclear how fast the two vehicles were traveling, “this was clearly a high-speed collision,” Landsberg said.

Read more: https://wacotrib.com/news/national/a-13-year-old-was-driving-the-pickup-truck-that-struck-a-van-in-texas/article_0d57b893-7371-5f03-8eb3-e116eae4d9eb.html
(Waco Tribune-Herald)

[hlthe2b]

1. I keep reading this tragic story and the "emphatic statement" that this was "illegal"

and going into the age-related details of licensure in Texas. Given the child and the adult man with him are both dead, it seems as though there would be some comment about "further investigation ongoing into other family members or others who might shed light on how this could have happened" or something to suggest that there might be some hope of learning what might help prevent future such acts? I find it beyond frustrating that none of the articles have gone further in the discussion of what might be discovered or done in the future. Just a "so sad, move on" kind of attitude. Maybe I am just overly sensitive right now, but it just doesn't come across well with me (and it certainly could not for friends/family of those athletes lost).

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. I have long been astonished

at the parents willing to let their under legal driving age children drive. Or if all they have is a permit, let them drive by themselves.