MOWED DOWN

‘Reckless’ Driver Kills 2 College Athletes in Horror Crash

Another four athletes are still fighting for their lives in critical condition.

Two college athletes are dead and others are fighting for their lives after a “reckless” driver plowed into a cycling team in East Tennessee on Wednesday, according to local troopers. The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Milligan University sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers died at the scene after being hit by 69-year-old John Benfield in Hampton, about 11 miles from campus. They were riding as part of an “elite cycle team” in a group of 11 when Benfield allegedly ran into them. Police said four other athletes, who have not been named, remain in critical condition at the Johnson City Medical Center. Officials have not shared exactly how Benfield was driving recklessly or whether he was under the influence, but he is in custody on a pair of vehicular homicide by recklessness charges. Engdahl, a native of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, and Rogers, from Huntsville, Alabama, were both in their second season at the private Christian university, which competes at the NAIA level. The team’s first competitive race, scheduled for Thursday in South Carolina, has been canceled.