MILAM COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) – UPDATE: Texas Department of Safety Troopers are investigating a crash that killed three people Thursday afternoon in Milam County.
Investigators say it happened at approximately 3:48 p.m. on Highway 36/Highway 190 – about two miles north of Milano – as a vehicle tried to evade a Milam County deputy. The vehicle ran off the road and crashed – bursting into flames.
A 2015 Dodge Challenger, driven by 19-year-old Phabian Jyquez Bynaum, of Cameron, was traveling southbound on Highway 190 at a high rate of speed. According to the investigating Trooper, the vehicle was attempting to elude a Milam County Sheriff Deputy – who was behind the Dodge with emergency equipment activated and attempting to stop the vehicle for a traffic violation.
Bynaum attempted to pass another vehicle on the southbound improved shoulder. While passing the other vehicle, the Dodge’s right tires left the roadway, and the Dodge lost control.
The Dodge crossed the northbound lane, crashed through a fence, and collided with a tree. The Dodge came to rest upside down and caught on fire. Milano firefighters responded and extinguished the flames.
Bynaum, along with 21-year-old passenger Malik Ezekiel Thomas, and 20-year-old Davarius Travon Bynaum, both of Cameron, were pronounced dead on scene by Justice of the Peace Greg Hoelscher. Next of kin have been notified, and the crash investigation is still active and open.