Two members of a university cycling team were killed and seven others were injured in a car crash in Hampton, Tennessee, state officials said. Milligan University, a private Christian school with just over 1,200 students, said 11 of its cyclists were out on a morning training ride when they were struck by a driver about 11 miles (18 kilometers) from campus in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
The county's district attorney, Steve Finney, said a 69-year-old man from North Carolina was arrested and faces two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle. University President Stephen Waers confirmed the deceased as sophomores Haylan Engdahl of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, and Brayden Rogers of Huntsville, Alabama. The other student-athletes were taken to Johnson City Medical Center.
In an emotional video message, Waers said, "We need to help our brothers and sisters bear burdens that are too great for any one person to carry alone," urging students to pray for their injured peers. As of Wednesday evening, four students were in critical condition, two were stable but remained hospitalized, and one had been discharged, said Dr. Bracken Burns, the hospital's trauma medical director.
Earlier this year, Milligan's men's cycling team won a team time trial national championship at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Wisconsin. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. The speed limit on the section of Highway 19 where the crash occurred is 50 mph (about 80 km/h).