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Jun 23, 2008 6:10 pm US/Central
2 Dead, 13 Hurt In Van Crash Near San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (CBS 11 News/AP) ―
A father and a teenage boy are dead after their passenger van, filled with North Texas family and friends, crashed on their way to Mexico for vacation. The crash happened Monday morning just southwest of San Antonio.
The van rolled over on Interstate 35 about 30 miles southwest of San Antonio near the town of Natalia. Authorities say 13 other people in the van were injured.
The right rear tire of the 15-passenger van was blown out and caused the 3 a.m. crash, said Lt. Steven Tellez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in San Antonio.
Tellez said it wasn't clear how many of the 15 family members and friends from the Fort Worth area were wearing seat belts.
Ediberto Agulair Jr. says his father bought the 1995 van two weeks ago. "I don't know if my father drive or Francisco [Castro], my uncle. So I don't know who was driving."
Officials later confirmed that Castro, 60, was driving when the blowout caused him to lose control. Ediberto Aguilar Sr., 55, and 15-yr old Jose Sanchez were killed.
Agulair Jr. says the group was headed to Mexico for a vacation.
The van, which was headed south, veered left after the blowout and into the interstate's median, where it rolled over and came to rest, Tellez said. It never crossed into the northbound lanes, he said.
Several other people in the vehicle were critically injured and had to be taken by helicopter to hospitals in San Antonio.
A hospital spokeswoman said she was working to get information on the conditions of those who were injured.
Aguilar Jr. says his father was the kind of guy who would have had the van inspected, including checking the tires before taking a long road trip.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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