Damaged front tire caused deadly pickup truck accident, highway patrol says

(CNN) -- A damaged front right tire caused the pickup truck accident in Texas that killed 15 people in the town of Goliad this week, authorities said Wednesday. Trooper Gerald Bryant of the Texas Highway Patrol said the rubber of the tire had started to come apart. The Ford pickup truck crammed with nearly two dozen people ran off a highway in southeastern Texas on Sunday evening, officials said. The death toll increased to 15 Wednesday, Bryant said. Children among dead in Texas truck crash The driver of the vehicle has been identified as Ricardo Mendoza-Pineda, 22, from Mexico. He was one of the 11 initially reported dead. No other vehicles were involved in the wreck. At least two of the dead were children, troopers told CNN affiliate KTRK in Houston. The victims were from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were called to the scene of the accident.