Victims of Texas horror crash identified as faithful church members

'We are ministering to family members to help them deal with this tragedy.'

Fourteen choir members of the First Baptist Church in New Braunfels were driving home from a church retreat Wednesday afternoon when their bus was involved in a head-on collision with a pickup truck.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - DPS Sgt. Orlando Moreno told mySA: "For reasons unknown, the truck veered into the southbound lane and struck the bus head-on. Give the investigators time to look at everything and then we'll know exactly what happened."

The accident occurred in a curve of the road, where the speed limit is 65 mph, but little else concerning the accident has been released to the public.

The truck's driver, 20-year-old Jack Dillon, was airlifted to a nearby hospital and was reported to be stable.

One of the bus' passengers, 64-year-old Rose Mary Harris, was also flown to a San Antonio hospital, where she passed away.

Twelve other bus passengers died at the scene.

Howard Allen, 81, Rhonda Allen, 61, Harold Barber, 87, Margaret Barber, 82, Christie Moor, 68, Donna Hawkins, 69, Avis Banks, 83, Mildren Rosamond, 87, Addie Schmeltekopf, 84, Sue Tysdal, 76, Martha Walker, 84, and Dorothy Fern Vulliet, 84, were all killed during the crash.

The driver of the bus, retired teacher Murray Barrett, was also killed on that San Antonio road.

Barron Casteel, the mayor of New Braunfels, stated: "It's just awfully sad. All of us will be affected because we're a small town and we're going to be part of those families who lost loved ones."

The Baptist Church released an official statement to its Facebook page, saying: "At approximately 2 pm this afternoon, a group of our senior adults were returning home from a 3-day retreat at Alto Frio Baptist Encampment when their vehicle was involved in a head-on collision.

"We have heard that there have been fatalities, but we have not received any official details from the local authorities.

"We are ministering to family members to help them deal with this tragedy. Counselors will be on hand at the church tomorrow.

"If you're a Christian, you can pray for those who lost their loved ones and for the church family."

Six hours later, they wrote: "It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that thirteen of the fourteen passengers in today's bus accident were called home to Jesus. The survivor is in serious but stable condition.

"Families have been notified. Out of respect for the families, we will wait until tomorrow to publish an official statement and list of names. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. Please continue to pray."

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