July 14 (UPI) -- Federal investigators on Thursday backtracked on their initial assessment of a deadly Texas car crash in March, saying a 38-year-old man, not his 13-year-old son, was driving a pickup truck that collided with a van carrying a college golf team.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it reviewed DNA testing results carried out by the Texas Department of Public Safety and determined the older male, Henrich Siemens, was driving the Dodge 2500 Ram pickup truck.
The truck veered into oncoming traffic on a two-lane roadway and struck a transit van carrying University of the Southwest golfers on March 15 near Andrews, Texas. The university students were traveling from the school's location in Hobbs, N.M., to a tournament in Midland, Texas, at the time of the crash.
The crash killed both occupants of the pickup truck, six of the student golfers and the team's coach, who was driving the van. Two other student occupants of the van were seriously injured.
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Two days after the crash, the NTSB said Siemens' 13-year-old son was driving the pickup truck based on an assessment of the size of the driver.
In addition to determining the identity of the pickup truck driver, the NTSB said testing revealed the presence of methamphetamine in Siemens' blood.
Investigators initially believed the crash was caused by a blowout of a spare tire on the pickup. The NTSB update Thursday said the agency has been unable to determine the cause.
"To date, the investigation has not found evidence of a sudden or rapid loss of tire air pressure or any other indicators of catastrophic failure of the pickup truck's front left tire," the NTSB said.
"The crash remains under investigation, and analysis of the crash facts, along with conclusions and a determination of probable cause, will come at a later date, when the final report on the investigation is completed."
