6 teens killed in Warren crash: Authorities still ‘piecing puzzle together’

WARREN, Ohio - Many questions remain unanswered in the deadliest crash in Trumbull County history.

State Highway Patrol Lt. Brian Holt said at a news conference Monday that authorities are still piecing together the puzzle of the Warren crash that left six teens dead.

Authorities are still investigating details of where the teens were going and what they were doing in a car they did not have permission to drive, he said.

“The last 24 hours have been difficult to say the least,” Holt said.

Eight teenagers were inside the Honda Passport when the driver lost control on Pine Avenue SE, went off the road and hit a guardrail before flipping into a swamp, officials said.

Once water from the pond, which was approximately four and a half to five feet deep, began to enter the vehicle, it became completely filled.

Six teens, Alexis Cayson, 19, Andrique Bennett, 14, Kirklan M. Behner, 15, Daylan Ray, 15, Brandon A. Murray, 14, and Ramone M. White, 15, were killed in the crash.

Brian Henry, 18, and Asher Lewis, 15, broke a rear window of the vehicle and swam out, then ran to a nearby home to call 911. They were released from the hospital after treatment for bruises and other injuries.

Toxicology results of the victims are still pending and results will not come “for some time,” Holt said. The Trumbull County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

The owner of the vehicle mangled in the crash did not have any relation to the teens, Holt said. The vehicle, licensed to a resident of Youngstown, was not reported missing but Holt was not yet prepared to definitively answer whether the owner knew it was gone.

Holt also reiterated they believe the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, over the limit of 35 MPH, but do not have the exact speed at this time. He could not answer exactly how many of the teens were wearing seatbelts.

"There were eight people in the vehicle only designed for five occupants so clearly some individuals were not utilizing a seatbelt,” Holt said.

Weather and road conditions did not play a factor in the crash, he said.

Administrators came together Sunday night to put together a plan for supporting students, Superintendent Michael Notar said. Counselors are at the school Monday offering guidance.

Mayor Doug Franklin said he has been inundated with calls from citizens looking to help. He told those people to reach out to the families of the victims with prayers.

“It’s always disheartening when you have young people perish in an accident of this kind,” Franklin said.

Holt identified the crash as the deadliest in the county's history and the state of Ohio in at least three years.