Amherstview, Ont. golfer recovering after deadly crash in Texas
The family of an Amherstview, Ont. student critically injured in a fiery crash in Texas says he is continuing to make progress, as members of the Kingston area golf community root for his recovery.
Hayden Underhill, 20, was one of two Ontario students hurt in the crash that left nine people dead. On Tuesday evening, a van carrying nine members of the University of the Southwest golf teams was returning from a golf tournament when it collided with a second vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.
The National Transportation Safety Board said late Thursday that a 13-year-old was driving the pick-up truck that struck the van carrying members of the University of the Southwest golf teams. NTSB Vice-Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the truck's left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before the crash.
Seven members of the university's men's and women's golf teams were killed in the crash. The occupants of the pickup truck were also killed.
Underhill and Dayton Price, 19, of Mississauga, are the lone survivors of the crash.
"He is continuing to make progress and we are grateful to the many people who have expressed their best wishes towards him and our family and have aided us in so many ways," said a statement from Underhill's parents.
"We would also like to pass on our condolences to family of Coach (Tyler) James and to all the members of the Mustangs family that were lost in this tragic event."
Underhill's parents, Ken and Wendy, flew to Texas to be with their son.
Underhill and Price have been transferred to the University Medical Centre in Lubbock, Tex.
University President Quint C. Thurman told reporters on Thursday there's no indication how long the recovery will take.
Underhill is a freshman on the University of the Southwest Mustangs golf team. He graduated from Ernestown Secondary School in Odessa, Ont. last year
"He's always that happy, go lucky kid, always has a smile on his face," Iain Restin of the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club said.
"Always willing to help out with the other juniors."
Underhill golfed out of the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club.
Restin says golfing at a U.S. school was always a dream for Underhill.
"He's the kind of kid who puts in all the work," Restin said. "He's on the putting green, on the driving range all the time if he's not on the golf course."
With files from The Associated Press and CTV News Toronto's Phil Tsekouras
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.