Ricky Siemens: 13-yr-old behind Texas crash had accidentally BURNED down family home months earlier
The 13-year-old who was behind the wheel in the horrid Texas high-speed crash that killed nine people had accidentally burned down his family home just three months ago, a family friend has revealed.
Ricky Siemens died along with his dad, Heinrich Siemens, 38, who was in the passenger seat, when the tire blew out from their 2007 Dodge 2500 and the vehicle crashed the divider and careened onto the opposite side of the two-lane highway.
Their truck crashed head-on with a Transit van carrying eight golfers from the University of the Southwest and their 26-year-old coach. The high-speed collision cost the lives of 6 golfers along with the coach and left two players in critical condition. Two male students, Hayden Underhill and Dayton Price, were pulled from the wreckage of the crash alive and airlifted to hospital.
According to Agatha Siemens, the family friend, the kid driver was a member of the Mennonite Evangelical Church in his hometown, Seminole, where he was also behind ravaging his family home in December. The devastating fire put the family out on the streets and killed one of their pet dogs days before Christmas, the friend said. The fire broke out when the 13-year-old was apparently cooking.
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“Just before Christmas, their house burned down … The 13-year-old made some eggs and forgot about it. I couldn’t imagine going through all that and then to have this happen. It’s just so sad,” she told the DailyMail.com.
The online fundraiser for the family after the fire sought $30,000; however, they were only able to raise about $10,000. “Their home burned down with all of their personal belongings inside. Some of the children ran out of the house without shoes. It’s hard to restart for this family of 6,” the fundraiser read.
Gary Raines, father of Karisa Raines, one of the victim that died in the horrid crash, lashed out and said, "That is the very picture of lunacy — to allow a 13-year-old behind the wheel of a pickup traveling down the road at 70 miles per hour at night. That has got to be the zenith of lunacy."
Gary said his 21-year-old daughter was two months away from graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Southwest. Karisa was in the USW van carrying members of the men's and women's golf teams when the 13-year-old boy rammed the pickup truck into their vehicle after losing control as a result of the tire blowing out.
