A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board concludes that inattention to driving by the driver of a pickup truck was the cause of that horrible church bus wreck in Uvalde County in March that left 13 members of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels dead, News Radio 1200 WOAI reprots.
"The NTSB’s review of witnesses’ 14-minute video of the pickup, taken prior to the crash, revealed the pickup truck crossed the double yellow centerline 19 times, crossed the solid white edge lines of the roadway 37 times, and entered the grass roadside at least five times. At one point in the video the pickup truck is seen traveling on the wrong side of the road," the report concludes.
But the NTSB says it has yet to determine a 'probable cause' for the deadly wreck.
The agency says it has subpoenaed pickup driver Jack Young's cell phone records."In an interview with the NTSB the driver stated he was checking his phone for a text when the crash happened," according to the report
.A witness to the wreck told 1200 WOAI news that Young told him when he was still pinned in the wreckage of his truck that he was texting at the time of the crash.
The NTSB says other potential reasons for Young to be weaving across the center line of the highway at the time are also being investigated.
"The pickup truck driver told NTSB investigators he took prescription medications prior to the crash. Several of those medications were found in the pickup truck at the crash scene. Marijuana was also found in the pickup truck. Toxicology test results for the driver are pending."
Young and the one church member who survived the crash have been released from San Antonio University Hospital. So far, no criminal charges have been filed, although Young and his father are the defendants in a $1 million negligence lawsuit.
PHOTO: JENNIFER MORRISON NTSB