13 Dead, 3 Injured In Central Texas Church Bus Crash; Police ID Deceased [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday identified the victims of a bus crash who died after a pickup truck ran into their lane head-on Wednesday afternoon on Highway 83. The following people succumbed to their injuries sustained in the collision:

• Murray William Barrett, 67
• Howard Bryan Allen, 81
• Rhonda Barlow Allen, 61
• Harold Boyd Barber, 87
• Margaret Robinson Barber, 82
• Cristie Clare Moore, 68
• Donna Elizabeth Hawkins, 69
• Avis Scholl Banks, 83
• Mildred Goodlett Rosamond, 87
• Addie Maurine Schmeltekopf, 84
• Sue Wynn Tysdal, 76
• Martha Holcomb Walker, 84
• Dorothy Fern Vulliet, 84

All were pronounced dead at the scene, except for Schmeltekopf, who later died at University Hospital in San Antonio on Wednesday. Two other bus passengers remain hospitalized: Rose Mary Harris, 64, in critical condition at San Antonio Military Medical Center, and the driver of the pickup truck, Jack Dillion Young, 20, who is in stable condition at University Hospital in San Antonio.

From Wednesday:

AUSTIN, TX — Thirteen people were killed and another three injured in a horrific traffic accident Wednesday afternoon near Garner State Park in Central Texas involving a church bus, officials said.

The bus was traveling south on Highway 83 near Concan, Texas, when it struck a pickup truck in a head-on collision at around 2 p.m. The bus was carrying 14 passengers — all senior members of First Baptist New Braunfels church —while the driver was the sole occupant of the pickup truck.

Police later told reporters the pickup truck veered onto the lane in which the bus was traveling, for unknown reasons. The crash resulted in 12 people dead at the scene and a 13th later succumbed to injuries. The 20-year-old driver of the pickup, Jack Dillion Young, is hospitalized in stable condition at University Hospital in San Antonio.

Photographs and video from media outlets illustrate the grim aftermath of the crash, showing heavy damage to the front driver's side of the small bus and pickup truck. The mangled rear portion of the bus ended up on a guardrail, with debris scattered throughout the grassy patch below the highway.

Church officials confirmed the fatalities, saying grief counselors would be made available tomorrow for parishioners to help them cope with the mass loss of life. The church is located in New Braunfels, a city just north of San Antonio.

The crash occurred just outside Garner State Park, a bucolic, cabin-dotted vacation spot located roughly 75 miles west of San Antonio. Church officials said the van's occupants were returning home to New Braunfels after a three-day retreat at the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment near Leakey, Texas, where members were attending a Bible study.

Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his condolences in a prepared statement: "We are saddened by the loss of life and our hearts go out to all those affected. We thank the first responders working on the scene in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy, and ask that all Texans join us in offering their thoughts and prayers."

Patch will provide more details as they are made available.

The bus crash is the second one this month involving seniors from Central Texas. On March 8, four members of the Bastrop Senior Center just outside Austin were killed after the bus they were traveling in got stuck on train tracks before being hit by a freight locomotive in Biloxi, Miss. The group of 50 seniors on the bus were on an excursion to a casino when the collision occurred.

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