A two-vehicle crash on Jan. 25, 2026, in Rhode Island claimed three lives WCVB Channel 5 Boston/Youtube
WCVB Channel 5 Boston/Youtube
The wrong-way crash on Route 146 in Rhode Island did not just shut down a highway. It ripped through a university community and a Massachusetts town, leaving three families suddenly planning funerals instead of spring semesters and workweeks. Two Bryant University juniors and a 41-year-old pickup driver were killed after a fiery head-on collision that turned a routine early-morning drive into a scene first responders described as devastating.
In the days since, friends, classmates, and relatives have been trying to make sense of how a truck barreling the wrong way in a storm could erase so much promise in a matter of seconds. The details that have emerged paint a picture that is both painfully specific and sadly familiar: a wrong-way driver, a divided highway, and no time for the victims to get out of the way.
The wrong-way pickup and a highway turned deadly
Investigators say the chain of events started when a Ford pickup truck headed the wrong way on the northbound side of Route 146 during a winter storm. Police in North Smithfield said the truck kept traveling south in the northbound lanes of 146, picking up speed as other drivers frantically called 911. Earlier that morning, dispatchers had already been warned about a vehicle going the wrong way, according to state police accounts of the crash.
The pickup, driven by Denis Aguilar Campos, age 41, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, eventually slammed head-on into a Chevy Tahoe carrying two college students. The impact left both vehicles engulfed in flames, a detail later confirmed in state police reports. Traffic on the highway was shut down for roughly four hours while crews worked through the wreckage and fire.
Two Bryant juniors, a pickup driver, and a campus in shock
Inside the Tahoe were two juniors from Bryant University, identified as Jaylin Rainford and David Okonkwo. Rainford, from Randolph, Massachusetts, was remembered back home as a driven student and athlete, while Okonkwo was known on campus as a steady presence and friend. Both were described by Bryant leadership as “extraordinary community members” who were cherished across the university.
On social media, Bryant University confirmed that Rainford and Okonkwo were the students killed, noting that one served as a campus resident assistant and that “Our hearts are heavy” as the community grieves. The third victim, Campos, was also pronounced dead at the scene, according to police summaries. For classmates returning to campus, the loss is not abstract: they are walking past empty seats in lecture halls and quiet rooms in residence halls that, just days ago, were full of life.
Witness accounts, wrong-way warnings, and a broader safety problem
Drivers on the highway that morning did what they could. Several called 911 to report a vehicle going the wrong way on the northbound side of Route 99 shortly before the crash. One witness later told MADDIE HEIMSCH of NBC NEWS that the truck was moving so fast there was no realistic chance for the Tahoe’s driver to swerve away. That same account, updated later that Tue and Updated Tue, underscored how quickly the situation went from alarming to irreversible.
For families and advocates, the crash is another painful entry in a pattern that has drawn national attention. People magazine highlighted the case under the banner of Dead Including College Students After Fiery Wrong Way Crash, noting that wrong-way collisions often leave no survivors. The Rhode Island crash fits that grim pattern: Three people, including the two Bryant students, died at the scene, and investigators have not reported any surviving occupants from either vehicle.
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