Following a police chase, three former student-athletes from Cameron High School died in a violent car crash on US 190 close to Milano, Texas. The encounter happened on Thursday and tragically resulted in a fatal accident.

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Who were the victims of the car crash?

The three victims have been identified as Phabian Bynaum, aged 19, Davarius Bynaum, aged 20, and Malik Thomas, aged 21. All three of them were recent graduates and former student-athletes of Cameron High School.

According to Milam County Sheriff Mike Clore and FOX 7 Austin, Phabian Bynaum, the youngest, was driving the car. Bynaum was speeding more than 20 miles per hour over the stated speed limit on US 190 between Cameron and Milano. Clore claimed that after one of his deputies failed to stop the car, a chase ensued.

According to a press statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Bynaum lost control of the vehicle in an effort to overtake other vehicles. Following a collision with a tree and a fence, the car overturned and caught fire in a field.

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When an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens activates approaches, Texas state law mandates that drivers pull to the right side of the road and come to a complete stop. A TXDPS representative said, “Attempting to evade law enforcement in a motor vehicle is not only a felony, it places everyone on the roadways in danger.”

To avoid such accidents in the future counselors will now be accessible to students and employees at all of the district’s campuses, according to Cameron ISD Superintendent Kevin Sprinkles.

Over the last 30 years, car crashes have killed more than 5,000 bystanders nationwide. It is often seen that about two-thirds of the victims of high-speed police chase accidents are innocent third parties, who had nothing to do with the chase.