A young Huntsville cyclist who got his start racing with Buckhorn High School’s mountain bike team was one of two Milligan University students killed Wednesday when a vehicle struck members of the school’s cycling team in eastern Tennessee.
Brayden Rogers, a 2025 Buckhorn High School graduate, was identified by Milligan University as one of the two students killed. The university also identified fellow sophomore Haylan Engdahl as the other student who died.
For those who knew Rogers through cycling in North Alabama, the loss hit close to home.
“Brayden Rogers, who graduated in 2025 was involved in a fatal accident when he and several other members of the Milligan University Cycling Team were struck by a vehicle this morning,” the Buckhorn High School Mountain Bike Club posted after the crash. “Please keep our Mountain Bike Family in your thoughts and prayers while we grieve for the loss of our beloved rider, son, brother and friend.”
Rogers had been racing competitively before arriving at Milligan.
Alabama Cycling Association results show him competing for Buckhorn High School, including an eighth-place finish in the varsity boys division at McClellan Trails in 2024. Other race results from his high school career show Rogers finishing as high as second and third in varsity competition.
His racing also took him to the national level. Results from the 2024 USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships in Auburn show Rogers finishing 12th in the Junior Men 17-18 division.
He continued the sport after graduating from Buckhorn, joining the cycling program at Milligan.
Crash kills two, injures seven
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the crash occurred Wednesday morning on U.S. Highway 19E near Simerly Creek Road in the Hampton area of Carter County.
Milligan University President Stephen Waers said 11 cyclists were riding together when the crash occurred. Rogers and Engdahl were killed, and seven others were taken to Johnson City Medical Center.
The impact left several of the surviving cyclists with serious injuries. Dr. James Bracken Burns, trauma medical director at Johnson City Medical Center, said Wednesday evening that four patients remained in the surgical intensive care unit and two others were stable on a medical-surgical floor. Another had been evaluated and released. Three of the patients had required surgery.
As the injured cyclists continued to receive treatment, Milligan turned its attention to supporting their families and a campus grieving the loss of two students.
“There are no words to adequately describe this level of loss,” the university said. “Our prayers are with all those impacted by this tragedy. Please keep the Milligan community in your prayers.”
Driver charged
District Attorney General Steven Finney identified the driver as John Benfield, 69, of Newland, North Carolina.
Benfield was booked into the Carter County Jail and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, according to Finney.
An affidavit of complaint obtained by WCYB News 5 provides additional details about what investigators allege happened immediately before the crash.
According to the affidavit, Benfield was driving a 2003 Subaru Baja Sport in the outside lane behind another vehicle. Investigators said the vehicle ahead of him moved from the outside lane into the inside lane, and Benfield then failed to observe the cyclists traveling ahead of him.
Investigators alleged Benfield was traveling at a distance or in a manner that did not give him enough time or distance to perceive and react to the cyclists.
The affidavit also states investigators found no physical evidence indicating Benfield applied his brakes or took evasive action before the collision. Investigators said he continued forward and struck the group.
The affidavit states officers who arrived before Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Mason Bowen reported smelling marijuana coming from Benfield’s vehicle.
The document does not state that marijuana was found in the vehicle, does not say Benfield was impaired at the time of the crash and does not include results from any drug or alcohol testing.
Investigators allege Benfield’s failure to observe the cyclists, maintain sufficient following distance and control his vehicle so he could safely react to roadway conditions amounted to reckless conduct.
Court documents show Benfield’s bond was set at $150,000. Finney has said additional charges could be filed.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.
Remembering Rogers
The loss has been felt well beyond the Milligan campus. USA Cycling expressed condolences to the students’ families, teammates, coaches and the university community following the crash.
But at Buckhorn, Rogers was more than a name on a college cycling roster. He was a former student and rider whose years on the bike had taken him from high school races in Alabama to national competition and then collegiate cycling.
Now, little more than a year after his high school graduation, the community where that journey began is mourning the young cyclist the Buckhorn Mountain Bike Club remembered as its “beloved rider, son, brother and friend.”
Sherri Blevins is a reporter for 256 Today.
Got a tip for OTR? Send your tip to [email protected] with related photo/video, your name, phone number, and e-mail address.
