Two Milligan University student-athletes were killed and seven others injured when a motorist struck their 11-member cycling team during a morning training ride on a mountain highway in Hampton, Tennessee, on August 19, 2026. The driver faces multiple charges.
A routine morning training session on a rural stretch of Highway 19 in Carter County ended in tragedy when a vehicle plowed into a group of student cyclists. The crash, which occurred around 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, claimed the lives of two sophomore athletes and left several others fighting for their lives in intensive care.
The Victims and the Injured Riders at Johnson City Medical Center
Milligan University identified the two students killed in the crash as Haylan Engdahl of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, and Brayden Rogers of Huntsville, Alabama. Both were sophomores at the private Christian liberal arts institution in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and members of its competitive cycling program.
Photo: Yahoo
The remaining riders in the 11-member training group were rushed from the scene. A large emergency response involving multiple air medical teams transported the injured athletes to Johnson City Medical Center. According to the hospital’s trauma medical director, Dr. Bracken Burns, four of the hospitalized students were listed in critical condition in the surgical intensive care unit, two were stable, and one student was evaluated and discharged on Wednesday evening. Three of the injured required specialized treatment from orthopedic trauma specialists, with at least one facing an additional operation.
Charges Filed Against the North Carolina Driver
The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash was identified as John Benfield, 69, of Newland, North Carolina. Carter County District Attorney General Steven Finney announced that Benfield was taken into custody and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle by recklessness. Benfield was booked into jail.
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Authorities have not yet released details regarding whether the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision. District Attorney Finney noted during a press briefing that prosecutors are continuing to evaluate the case and that additional charges remain possible as the investigation progresses.
An Elite Program Stunned by Tragedy
The cycling community and university officials emphasized that the victims were not casual riders, but members of a highly accomplished collegiate squad. District Attorney Finney pushed back against any notion that the students were riding haphazardly on the mountain road.
Photo: Nytimes
“This is an elite cycling team. It’s not a bunch of just club guys getting together to ride. They know what they’re doing. They rode in a peloton. One of the boys just won last weekend in one of the local races.”
Steven Finney, First Judicial District Attorney General
The Milligan men’s cycling team captured the national championship in the team time trial at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin, earlier this year. The program also counts notable alumni among its ranks, including U.S. Olympian Megan Jastrab, who raced for the women’s team before turning professional.
Investigation and Community Response
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is leading the ongoing investigation into the crash, which occurred on a section of Highway 19 near Simerly Creek Road where the posted speed limit is 50 miles per hour. Major Roy Brown of the Tennessee Highway Patrol addressed reporters on Wednesday, acknowledging the public demand for answers while emphasizing the need for a methodical inquiry.
2 students dead, 7 others injured after driver strikes Tennessee university cycling team: Authoritie
“Our troopers are now working to determine exactly what happened. We know the families and Milligan University deeply want answers, and we want to provide those answers. But it’s our responsibility to ensure that we conduct a fair investigation thoroughly and provide facts based on that investigation.”
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Major Roy Brown, Tennessee Highway Patrol
Milligan University President Stephen Waers shared an emotional video message with the campus community, offering grief counseling and pastoral resources to students mourning the loss of their peers. University leadership invited the surrounding region to join in support for the families affected by the disaster.
“I’d like to invite you into prayer with us, into grief with us, into prayer for the families of those we have lost, into prayer for those who are still receiving treatment.”
Stephen Waers, President of Milligan University
As investigators work to reconstruct the final moments of the training ride, national governing body USA Cycling issued a statement expressing profound sorrow over the lives cut short. Local prosecutors and state troopers have pledged to coordinate closely with the victims’ families as the legal proceedings against Benfield move forward.
