A crash on U.S. Route 19 in Tennessee left two students from a university cycling team dead and a driver from North Carolina facing charges.
The crash, involving one car and multiple cyclists, happened at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley said at a press conference.
The cycling team came from Milligan University, a Christian school in the town of Milligan College, 285 miles east of Nashville.
School officials said on its website that the crash happened in nearby Hampton.
Milligan University President Stephen Waers said at the press conference that 11 cyclists were involved in the crash, with sophomores Brayden Rogers and Haylan Engdahl dying in the incident.
Six were being treated at Johnson City Medical Center, 10 miles from Hampton. Four are in critical condition and the other two are stable, Bracken Burns, the center’s trauma medical director, said at the press conference.
First Judicial District Attorney Steven Finney said at the press conference that the driver in the crash, John Benfield, 69, of Newland, North Carolina, is facing seven criminal counts for his role in the wreck.
Prior to the crash, Mr. Benfield was in the outside lane when the vehicle in front of him changed lanes. Investigators said in an affidavit that Mr. Benfield did not see the cyclists, who were also in the outside lane, due to his speed and manner of driving.
Mr. Benfield is accused of not keeping a safe following distance and driving unsafely, thereby causing the crash. Investigators added that no evidence was found indicating that he hit the brakes or tried to evade the cycling team.
Investigators also said in the affidavit that responding officers noticed a marijuana odor from his car, but did not say whether Mr. Benfield tested positive for marijuana or whether marijuana or associated paraphernalia was found in the car.
