BRUSLY — It’s been a painful nearly four years since two teenage best friends, Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill, died in a crash that resulted from an officer pursuing the driver of a stolen vehicle. That driver was Tyquel Zanders. Today, Zanders pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing and will now avoid a trial.
“The only justice is if we had our children,” Maggie’s Dunn’s mother Erin Martin told UWK after Zanders pleaded on Monday.
Tyquel Zanders, 27, started the pursuit after breaking into his parents’ home in Baton Rouge on Dec. 31, 2022, assaulting his father, and then stealing their car, officials said.
The pursuit led officers through East Baton Rouge Parish into West Baton Rouge Parish, where Addis Police Officer David Cauthron joined on La 1 southbound. Approaching a red light on La 1, Cauthron was speeding for the pursuit and collided with Dunn and Gill’s car.
Dunn & Gill were turning onto La 1 with a green light when the collision occurred with Cauthron’s unit. Tragically, the crash claimed the lives of the two Brusly High cheerleaders and best friends. Liam Dunn, Maggie Dunn’s brother, was in the backseat. He was badly injured but survived the crash.
“As we approached the intersection where the accident happened, I made the comment, ‘F—, this is gonna hurt,’ because he was going under the red light, and I could see cars coming,” Cauthron told UWK on a podcast. “I thought he was going to get into a wreck, which is why I said what I said. It was put out like I said it because I knew I was going to get into a wreck. I never saw those girls’ car.”
Cauthron had his lights and sirens activated but reportedly failed to brake when approaching the red light. He says that all he remembers is a silver flash come in front of him. After the crash, he was taken to the hospital with broken ribs, a concussion and injuries to his leg and groin.
Following the incident, Cauthron was arrested on Jan. 2, 2023, and charged with two counts of negligent homicide in West Baton Rouge Parish. Upon posting bail, Cauthron submitted his resignation letter to Addis Police. Cauthron is now serving 10 years for his involvement in the deaths.
Zanders pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, aggravated obstruction of a highway, aggravated flight and negligent injuring. He will not have a trial due to his guilty plea. His sentencing is set in November 2026.
Martin said she never fully blamed Zanders in Caroline & Maggie’s deaths as much as she did Cauthron. She added Zanders’ family was also in the courtroom and hugged her afterwards.
“I wasn’t really as angry with him anyways but it was just always something that was never going to die,” Martin said. “As soon as it was over and we were getting up to walk out, his mom, who was in tears obviously, just looked at me and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ So we walk over and they hug us and they couldn’t let us go. She said, ‘We prayed for y’all for years.’ I mean how can you be angry? I said, ‘There’s no justice for either one of us. You just lost a child too.’ I can’t be angry at them.”
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