2 student cyclists killed in Tennessee crash, man arrested
The Hill · C · trust 50/100
Comments: by Murry Lee - 08/19/26 5:30 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Murry Lee - 08/19/26 5:30 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. ( WJHL ) – Two student athletes of Milligan University, located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, were killed in a highway crash Wednesday morning, state and school officials have confirmed.
The crash happened on Highway 19E and involved a vehicle and a group of cyclists, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol. Milligan identified the students killed as sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers and that several others were taken to the hospital with injuries.
The school confirmed Engdahl and Rogers were members of its cycling team.
In a statement, Milligan University said, in part: “There are no words to adequately describe this level of loss. Our prayers are with all those impacted by this tragedy. Please keep the Milligan community in your prayers.”
Ultimately, seven injured people were taken to the hospital and as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, four were still in critical condition in the surgical intensive care unit, according to Dr. James Bracken Burns, of Johnson City Medical Center.
On Wednesday evening, 69 year-old North Carolina resident John Benfield, of Newland, was identified as the suspect in the crash. He was booked into the local county jail and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle.
In a news conference, District Attorney General Steven Finney said he was limited in what he could say about the investigation and wasn’t at this time able to address if Benfield was or was not under the influence of a substance at the time of the crash.
Following the news of the crash, several universities issued statements of support for the Milligan community, including the athletics department of Eastern Tennessee State University.
“ETSU Athletics joins our university and region in mourning alongside the Milligan University community after this morning’s tragic accident involving the institution’s cycling team,” the statement reads. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, teammates, coaches, faculty, and staff affected. Our thoughts are with the entire Milligan community during this incredibly difficult time.”
ETSU President Brian Noland also posted a statement to X , saying the ETSU community was praying for those injured in the crash.
Nearby Tusculum and King Universities also offered support to Milligan.
“We are profoundly saddened by this devastating loss. We lift up the families of those whose lives were lost, pray for the swift recovery of the injured, and stand in solidarity with the entire Milligan community during this incredibly difficult time,” King University’s statement read, in part.
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