“The whole house burned down,” Seminole Pastor Jake Fehr said of the tragic fire that took place months before the West Texas car crash that resulted in nine deaths
The West Texas car crash that resulted in nine deaths Tuesday came shortly after another tragedy for one family involved.
The family of Henrich Siemens and his 13-year-old son, who was behind the wheel of the 2007 Dodge 2500 pickup truck involved in the accident, previously suffered the loss of their home and a family pet in a fire late last year, according to a GoFundMe page.
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“The whole house burned down, they lost everything in that home,” Mennonite Evangelical Church Seminole Pastor Jake Fehr told NBC News.
According to the GoFundMe, the family’s dog died in the fire and was found hiding under a bed. The funds went to helping them relocate and replace some of their belongings. “Some of the children ran out of the house without shoes. It’s hard restart for this family of 6,” the campaign read.
Fehr, who knew Henrich growing up, noted that his church will host the father and son’s funeral, although they were members of South Seminole Baptist Church. South Seminoles’ Pastor Richard “Buck” Wheat will officiate the memorial.
An initial investigation found that the truck’s left front tire, which was a spare, blew out moments before Tuesday’s crash, which occurred at 8:17 p.m. on a rural highway in Andrews County, Texas. This caused the vehicle to veer into the other lane and collide with a college transit van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams.
RELATED VIDEO: Members of College Golf Team Identified After Texas Crash Kills 9, Including 13-Year-Old Driver
Six of the students and their coach died in the accident. They have been 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.
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.
The student athletes were traveling back to school in Hobbs, New Mexico, after playing at a tournament in Midland, Texas.