Driver Who Caused Central Texas Crash That Killed 13 Was Texting: Report

AUSTIN, TX — The man whose car crashed head-on with a church bus near Garner State Park, killing 13 seniors returning from a Bible study, was texting while driving, according to a published report.

Jack D. Young, 20, was texting before he slammed into a bus carrying congregants of First Baptist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, killing 13 senior citizens. A witness who spoke to Young while he was pinned to his mangled pickup truck told the San Antonio Express-News that Young had been distracted by texting.

"He said 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry; I was texting on the phone,'" Jody Kuchler, 55, a welder from Leakey, Texas, near where the crash occurred, told the newspaper. “I told him. ‘Son, do you know what you just did?’ He just kept saying, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.'"

Kuchler told the newspaper he tried furiously to alert authorities that Young was weaving across highway lanes, fearing a head-on crash might result. But his efforts were frustrated when a dispatcher told him Young's car was not in his jurisdiction.

"'That's not Real County,'" the witness said the dispatcher told him as Young approached the Real County line on U.S. 83 from Uvalde County. “I told him we’re talking safety here, and they need to get him off the road.”

Related story: 13 Dead, 3 Injured In Central Texas Church Bus Crash; Police ID Deceased

Tragically, his efforts to have Young pulled over were in vain. Young ended up slamming into the church bus where 14 passengers ranging in ages from 61 to 87 were returning from a three-day retreat for Bible study.

Ironically, the Texas Legislature in its current session is considering passing a bill banning use of hand-held phones while driving. Lawmakers have considered such bills in each legislative session since 2009, coming close to enacting one into law in 2011 before being vetoed by former Gov. Rick Perry.

>>> Read the full story at San Antonio Express-News

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