Names released of Tarrant County residents killed in San Antonio van crash

Two Tarrant County residents were killed and 13 others were injured when a van crashed early Monday on Interstate 35 southwest of San Antonio, authorities said.

Killed were Edilberto Aguilar, 55, and Jose Sanchez, 15, authorities said.

The passenger van was apparently carrying family members to Mexico for a vacation, said Lt. Steven Tellez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in San Antonio.

The names of others involved were not released Monday morning.

The van was southbound on Interstate 35 just northeast of Natalia in Medina County about 3 a.m. when the driver lost control, Tellez said. The van crossed the center median and rolled.

A 15-year-old boy and an adult male were killed, he said. The injured were taken to area hospitals, some by air helicopter ambulance.

Investigators were trying to determine whether a blow-out in the right rear tire caused the crash, Tellez said.

"We don't know if the tire blew after the van rolled or if it was the cause," Tellez said. "The trooper is meeting with the people involved at the hospital and is trying to get some witness statements."

At least some of the victims were being treated at University Hospital in San Antonio, Tellez said.

Raul Plata of San Antonio said he and his 12-year-old son drove upon the accident moments after it occurred. The van was upside down and smoking in the center median, he said.

"I saw a lady screaming," he said. "They were a lot of people. They were trying to get the people still trapped inside the van out, but since it was upside down it was hard to get in."

Police arrived shortly and several victims were taken away in helicopters, he said. Others left in ambulances.

"Kids were screaming; they must have been real bunched up in the van," Plata said. "It was bad."