Cliff Tucker among seven killed, injured in crash

ABC-7 has learned more about the deadly crash that claimed the life of a former high school star athlete.

Cliff Tucker, 29, was headed back to El Paso from San Antonio in a van with a group of six others when the tread on one of the van’s tires separated, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety investigators on the scene.

The driver lost control of the van and it rolled over.

DPS investigators say that Tucker, along with Amanda Akaji, 25, from El Paso, and Andrew Akaji, 29, from Florida were all killed.

Investigators say none of them were buckled up.

Two other passengers from El Paso — Genesis Soto, 29, and Andrea Soto, 3 — were critically injured. Genesis is at a hospital in Odessa, while Andrea is being treated at UMC in El Paso. DPS says they also weren’t wearing seat belts.

The driver and another passenger were wearing seat belts and had non-life-threatening injuries.

Tucker was a standout basketball and football player at Chapin High School, graduating in 2007.

He played four years of college basketball at the University of Maryland and played football at UTEP in 2011.