Two Ontario students critically injured in deadly Texas crash 'making steady progress' in hospital: official

The two Ontario students who were critically injured in a fiery car crash in Texas that left nine others dead are now in stable condition and recovering in hospital, officials say.

“They’re making steady progress,” University of the Southwest Provost Ryan Tipton said at a news conference in New Mexico on Thursday.

On Tuesday evening, a van carrying nine members of the university's men's and women's golf teams was returning home from a golf tournament on a two-lane road in Andrews County, roughly 50 kilometres east of New Mexico.

At that time, officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety said a pickup truck travelling in the opposite direction crossed the centre line and collided with the passenger van.

Seven members of the university’s golf team were killed in the crash and have been identified as coach Tyler James, 26, of Hobbs, New Mexico, and players 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.

The occupants of the pickup truck, Henrich Siemans, 38, of Seminole County, Texas, and an unidentified 13-year-old boy, were also killed.

According to National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg, the 13-year-old boy was driving the pickup truck that struck the van. Landsberg added that the truck's left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before impact.

It's still unclear how fast the two vehicles were traveling, but Landsberg said it was "clearly a high-speed collision."

Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers look over the scene of a fatal car wreck early Wednesday, March 16, 2022 half of a mile north of State Highway 115 on Farm-to-Market Road 1788 in Andrews County, Texas.

Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga, Ont., and Hayden Underhill, 20, of Amherstview, Ont.-- both of whom are students at the University of the Southwest and members of the golf team -- are the lone survivors of the crash.

They were transported to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas in critical condition following the collision.

Since then, Tipton said that the university’s president, Quint C. Thurman, is at the hospital in Lubbock with the students and their parents and said both men are recovering.

“There is no indication as to how long it’s going to take, but they are both stable and recovering and everyday making more and more progress. So we’re happy with that,” Tipton said.

In a statement released Thursday, Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman offered her condolences to the families of the nine victims of the crash and extended support to Price and Underhill.

“Our hearts go out to all of the families involved in this devastating accident,” Hoffman said. “On behalf of the Canadian golf community, our thoughts and best wishes are with Dayton and Hayden as well as their families as they deal through this tragedy.”

Price and Underhill have played in various Golf Ontario championships and are members of the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club and Kingston’s Cataraqui Golf and Country Club, respectively.

GoFundMe fundraising pages have been set up for both Price and Underhill to help their families cover medical expenses related to the crash. 

With files from The Associated Press