3 Southern University marching band members were killed changing tires

Three members of Southern University’s marching band were killed when a semi truck crashed into their car while they were changing a flat tire at the side of a Louisiana freeway Tuesday night.

The tragedy came after the students — Tyan Williams, 19, Dylan Young, 21, and Broderick Moore, 19 — stopped a 1999 Jeep Laredo on the shoulder of northbound I-49 in Natchitoches to repair the apartment , according to the Louisiana State Police.

While they were working to replace the tire, a 1997 Freightliner drifted onto the shoulder and crashed into the Jeep’s left side, cops said.

The three students, members of Southern University’s renowned Human Jukebox Marching Band, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The semi-truck driver, identified by police as 62-year-old Clyde Gay of Coushatta, suffered no injuries. Police said a toxicology report is pending while they continue the investigation.

Williams and Moore were both freshmen at Baton Rouge School with majors in music, the university said in a statement to the school community. Young was a sophomore with a major in mechanical engineering.

Kedric Taylor, Human Jukebox’s director of bands, said he was “wordless and completely devastated” when he heard about the fatal accident.

Taylor called the three victims “some of the most promising, humble and talented musicians I’ve ever had the privilege of teaching.”

“The dedication and work ethic they brought to the Human Jukebox was inspiring,” says Taylor said in a statement.

The college provides counseling services to students, SU President and Chancellor Dennis J. Shields said in the statement.

“While information is still being collected during this difficult time, we fully respect the privacy of the families of our beloved students,” Shields wrote. “We will share ways to commemorate them in the near future.”