EXPLAINER: Driver in Texas crash was 13; is that legal?

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

It’s not uncommon for people in rural parts of the U.S. to learn to drive when they’re young, sometimes even before they reach their teens. But the news that a 13-year-old was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that blew a tire and struck a van in West Texas and killed nine people put a renewed focus on the practice. National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at a news conference Thursday that the dangers of underage driving put it on the agency’s “most-wanted list.” William Van Tassel of AAA noted the driver’s age was just one risk factor. The crash happened at night and on a road with a high speed limit when a spare tire blew.