An investigation is ongoing concerning the church bus crash on March 29, 2017 that killed 13 church members and the driver. Officials said it will be at least a year before the investigation is complete. The 20-year-old driver of the pickup truck that crashed into the bus is Jack Dillon Young. He confessed to texting at the time of the crash.
The bus was transporting the group back to their church after the seniors had been on a three-day choir retreat to the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment. The passengers were members of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels, Texas.
According to the report provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the men and women ranging in ages from 61 to 87 were from various parts of Texas.
The bus crash
Only one passenger survived the bus crash. It was Rose Mary Harris, 64, of New Braunfels who was hospitalized in critical condition. Young was hospitalized in stable condition, and he was released from University Hospital a short time later.
A video taken on a cellphone has become part of the investigation along with photographs of the vehicles. The photos show that great damage was done, but most of the damage was to the front drivers' sides of both vehicles. The back of the church bus ended up on a guardrail as can be seen in most of the pictures.
Witness to the crash
A driver, Jody Kuchler, followed the truck for about 15 minutes. During that time, he called two sheriffs offices in the countries they were driving through. He warned officials to do something about the truck that was speeding at about 80 miles per hour. Unfortunately, the crash occurred before any officers arrived.
At the crash site, Young apologized and told Kuchler that he had been texting at the time of the crash.
Texting and driving in Texas
Forty-six of the 50 states have a statewide law against Texting And Driving. Unfortunately, Texas is not one of those states. There are only dozens of cities in Texas that prohibit Texting While Driving, but there is no statewide ban on the practice.
There might not be a local law against texting and driving in the rural area where the crash occurred.
At one time, there was a statewide law against texting and driving in Texas that would have included the site of the bus crash. The law was vetoed by Rick Perry when he was governor. In 2011, the statewide texting while driving law was banned. Perry said educating drivers is more important than having a law against texting.
