A serious incident has shaken the community of Tennessee in the US, after a vehicle struck a group of cyclists during a training session.
Two of them, students at Milligan University, lost their lives, while seven others were injured.
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The victims were Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, both sophomores and members of Milligan University’s cycling team.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said that 11 cyclists were in the group involved in the crash. They were struck by a car driven by a 69-year-old man.
Engdahl and Rogers died at the scene. The other seven cyclists were taken by ambulance to hospital, while two of them are reportedly in critical condition.
Police arrested the driver, 69-year-old John Benfield, a resident of Newland, North Carolina. He is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and five counts of causing serious bodily injury with a vehicle.
Steven Finney, the District Attorney General for Tennessee’s First Judicial District, said the investigation was still ongoing. According to him, additional charges could be brought against Benfield once the investigation is complete.
So far, authorities have not clarified whether the driver had consumed alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
Finney also said that responsibility for the accident should not be attributed to the cyclists, whom he described as an experienced group carrying out a routine training session.
“This is an elite cycling team. It is not a group of club members who get together to ride bicycles. They know what they are doing,” he said.
Following the incident, Milligan University and the cycling community expressed their grief over the loss of the two students.
USA Cycling said it was “deeply saddened” by the crash and extended its condolences to the families of Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, their teammates, coaches and the entire university community.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the families of Haylan and Brayden, their teammates, friends, coaches and the entire Milligan University community as they navigate this incredibly difficult time,” the statement said.
Haylan Engdahl attended Christian Life School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The school’s director, Jeff Bogaczyk, remembered him as a young man with a warm character and a great love of life.
“A wonderful person, with an infectious smile, a captivating personality, who loved life,” Bogaczyk told ABC7.
The investigation into the crash continues as authorities work to determine all the circumstances surrounding the collision.
