This past weekend, two high school cheerleaders died after a police chase went wrong and turned deadly. An officer has been charged in connection with the deaths. Because of this, the community is in a state of grief.
Maggie Dunn, 17, and Caroline Gill, 15, were both students and cheerleaders at Brusly High School in Louisiana. They were both killed in the crash, which officials said happened while they were in a high-speed chase of a home-invasion suspect on Saturday night.
Maggie’s brother, Liam Dunn, was also in the car at the time of the accident, and he is in critical condition right now.
He will need surgeries. Has a broken femur, tabula, left wrist, fractured skull, and a few other issues. We are asking for prayers,
Kenny, his father, asked friends and family to donate blood in his name at the Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.
We don’t know why God took our daughter, but I bet she is running shop up there,
WBRZ-TV says that on Sunday, 42-year-old David Cauthron, an officer with the Addis Police Department, was arrested and charged with two counts of negligent homicide and one count of negligent injury.
Based on the paperwork that was filled out when Cauthron was booked, he was still being held as of Monday afternoon. It wasn’t completely clear whether or not Cauthron has hired a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.
The officer is currently on administrative leave, and District Attorney Tony Clayton says that he “has a lot of questions to answer about his speed and sheer negligence.”
For these kids to not to have been able to start the New Year is inexcusable, but we’ll follow the facts first,
Clayton added to WBRZ-TV.
I just can’t put my arms around why (the officer) was driving at that rate of speed in pursuit of this vehicle. This officer is facing some serious issues.
Clayton continued:
If it involves putting human life in danger, stop the damn pursuit. It’s just not worth the risk.
The Advocate says that the police say the officer was trying to catch 24-year-old Tyquel Zanders when he crashed into the car carrying the teenagers.
According to the news source, he was caught after his car broke down. He was charged with breaking into a home, stealing a car, and aggravated flight. It wasn’t clear right away if he had hired a lawyer to speak on his behalf. This was an important question that needed to be answered.
Principal Walt Lemoine of Brusly High School released the following statement, which was both emailed to the school’s students and staff and posted on different social media sites:
The losses are far-reaching in our school community as Maggie’s mother, Erin Martin, and sister, Tori Hill, work at our school. Caroline’s older sister is a senior at Brusly High and has younger siblings in our school system.
Their losses are sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school, especially our students,
Lemoine went on to say that the school has a Crisis Intervention Team, which is “made up of professionals who are trained to help students, parents, and school staff in hard times like this.” He went on to say that any student who might need them can also talk to guidance counselors.
Lemoine also said that the Tuesday school day would start with an assembly and that school staff would be available all day “to help students who need extra support in the form of individual or small group counseling.”
In the meantime, the girls’ high school cheerleading team has put out a statement that you can find on Facebook. In it, they ask people in the community to think about the families of the people who died.
As we mourn the tragic deaths of Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill please keep their families, friends, and the BHS community in your thoughts and prayers,
the statement read.
Their enthusiasm and bright smiles will be missed more than can be imagined.
A Facebook page for the event says that on Monday night at 5:30, there will be a candlelight vigil at the high school football field.
When a reliable source asked the Addis Police Department for a comment, the department did not answer right away.
