Callers Saw Truck Driving Erratically Before Fatal Crash

Law enforcement officials in two Texas counties say they received phone calls about a person in a white pickup truck driving erratically shortly before a deadly collision between a church bus and a pickup left 13 people dead, the AP reports. Uvalde police Lt. Daniel Rodriguez says a man called about 12:02pm Wednesday to report the swerving truck heading north on US 83 and to ask deputies to respond. Deputies were dispatched, but Rodriguez says the same caller called back about 12:30pm to say the truck had been in a collision. Real County Constable Nathan Johnson also said that a woman called their county dispatch to report a truck matching the description was driving erratically in the same area shortly before the accident. The same woman also called back to report the accident.

A Texas pastor says the families of the 13 church members killed in the crash came to the church hours after the wreck to cry and grieve together. Brad McLean, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, said during a news conference Thursday that the church's priority is to care for and guide the families of those killed in the wreck. McLean said some of the victims were members of the church for years who had participated in mission trips together. The group was returning from a three-day church retreat. Those killed ranged in age from 61 to 87. One bus passenger is hospitalized, as is the 20-year-old truck driver.