Driver Charged After Car Kills Two College Cyclists
Driver Charged After Car Kills Two College Cyclists
The News
A 69-year-old North Carolina man is charged with vehicular homicide after a car struck a Milligan University cycling team training ride in east Tennessee Wednesday morning, killing two students.
District Attorney Steve Finney identified the driver as John Benfield and said he faces two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle by recklessness, according to WCYB via The National Desk. Finney said more charges could follow, and Benfield was being booked into the Carter County Detention Center.
Milligan University President Dr. Stephen Waers said 11 cyclists were on a training ride when the crash happened around 8 a.m. local time. Two were killed and nine were taken to hospitals.
The school identified the dead as sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers.
Timeline
A vehicle hits a group of 11 Milligan cyclists on US Highway 19E at Simerly Creek in Carter County, Tennessee, in the community of Hampton, roughly 10 miles east of the campus in Elizabethton. A state police source told CBS News the area is mountainous.
Carter County 911 asks drivers to avoid the area. Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley confirms two dead and multiple injured. Multiple victims are flown from the scene by helicopter; the Tennessee Highway Patrol said several patients were airlifted to area hospitals.
Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine says the Milligan cycling team was involved and that seven victims were taken to Johnson City Medical Center. Health officials later say four students are in critical condition.
Milligan names the two students killed. Waers says seven of the injured are still being treated and two were treated and released.
Finney announces the charges against Benfield.
Reactions
Ballad Health said in a statement it was "deeply saddened by the tragic incident involving Milligan University cyclists who were struck by a vehicle in the Hampton area of Carter County this morning," adding: "Our prayers are with the victims, their families and everyone affected by this devastating event." The system said trauma surgeons were at Johnson City Medical Center and its teams were "prepared to respond."
Milligan said multiple other cyclists were "seriously injured" and asked the public to keep the Milligan community in their prayers.
Nearby King University said it "extends its deepest sympathies and prayers to our neighbors at Milligan University," saying it was "profoundly saddened by this devastating loss" and stood "in solidarity with the entire Milligan community during this incredibly difficult time." Universities across Tennessee's Tri-Cities region sent condolences, WFLA reported.
What's Next
Benfield's booking at the Carter County Detention Center starts a criminal case that Finney has already signaled could grow, saying additional charges are possible.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating and has not released a cause for the crash. The number of people in the vehicle and their conditions have not been disclosed.
Four of the injured students were listed in critical condition Wednesday, and updates on the seven still being treated are expected from the hospital and the university.
More
Milligan University is a small Christian college in Elizabethton, in the mountains of east Tennessee. The team was hit mid-training, about 10 miles from campus, on a rural highway.
Reporting: CBS News, The National Desk/WCYB, WFLA, Daily Mail.
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