Grand jury indicts officer involved in deadly crash during police chase; driver accused of fleeing also indicted

WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WAFB) - A West Baton Rouge Parish grand jury has decided an Addis police officer should be officially charged for his involvement in a crash during a pursuit that left two teenagers dead and another person critically injured.

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The grand jury on Friday, Feb. 24, indicted David Cauthron, 42, on two counts of manslaughter, one count of aggravated obstruction of a highway, one count of negligent injury, one count of malfeasance in office, and one count of reckless operation of a vehicle.

The crash happened on New Year’s Eve on LA 1 near North Vaughn Drive in Brusly.

According to officials, Brusly High cheerleaders Maggie Dunn, 17, and Caroline Gill, 15, were killed after their car was hit by a vehicle being driven by Cauthron, who was involved in a pursuit at the time of the crash. Dunn’s older brother, Liam, was in the car with the two teenagers, and he was critically injured.

The grand jury also indicted Tyquel Zanders, 24, of Baton Rouge, on two counts of manslaughter, one count of aggravated obstruction of a highway, one count of negligent injury, and one count of reckless operation of a vehicle. He is the man authorities said was fleeing officers at the time of the crash.

According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, the pursuit was the result of a home invasion that occurred in the 3200 block of Blackwell Drive in Baton Rouge. That’s where Zanders reportedly broke into a family member’s home and stole their car.

Arrest documents reveal that officers later tried to pull Zanders over during a traffic stop on River Road in Baton Rouge. The documents show when Zanders refused to stop, the chase began. Zanders is accused of running several red lights and reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour on the interstate, according to the arrest documents.

Authorities said the pursuit ended on I-10 at Dalrymple Drive. Arrest documents state Zanders was taken into custody after his car stalled. He was initially booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of home invasion, auto theft, and aggravated flight.

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