Who Were Landon Mullins, Duke Weddle and Elijah Hammons After the Laurel County Collision?

 A Saturday night in Laurel County ended with three young lives cut short, leaving families facing a loss that arrived with devastating speed. Landon Mullins of Mount Vernon was 17, while Duke Weddle and Elijah Hammons, both of London, were 18. Shortly after 11 p.m. on September 26, 2026, the three were passengers in a 2021 silver Mercedes that crashed on Somerset Road, also known as KY 1956, near London’s western city limits. The sudden loss was devastating and deeply painful.

According to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office and local reports, the Mercedes was traveling eastbound when it entered a sharp right-hand curve. The vehicle then left the roadway and overturned, turning an ordinary Saturday evening into a fatal collision. The Laurel County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identities of Landon, Duke, and Elijah on Sunday, September 27, providing families and others with the names of the young people who had died in the crash, bringing painful clarity now.

A fourth passenger, 20-year-old Joseph Cope of Lexington, survived but suffered critical injuries. He was airlifted to the UK hospital for treatment and remained in critical condition according to the latest reports provided. His survival adds another painful dimension to an incident that claimed three lives while leaving another young person facing serious injuries and a difficult recovery. For the families involved, the consequences of the crash extend beyond the scene itself, his condition remained serious.

Landon, Duke, and Elijah were still at ages when much of life was ahead of them. Their futures included possibilities that had not yet been lived, friendships that were still growing, and experiences that would never have the chance to unfold. Their deaths therefore represent more than the circumstances of a roadway collision; they mark the sudden ending of three individual stories that mattered deeply to the people who knew them, their futures held promise.

For Landon’s family and friends, his name now carries the memories of a 17-year-old whose life ended far earlier than anyone expected. Duke and Elijah, both 18, likewise leave behind people who knew them through everyday moments, friendships, conversations, and shared experiences. Those personal connections cannot be captured fully by the details of a crash report, but they remain central to how young lives are remembered after a sudden loss, memories now carry meaning.

The timing and location of the collision have also become part of a night that several families will remember differently from this point forward. A journey along Somerset Road ended when the Mercedes entered the curve and overturned, leaving three passengers dead and another critically injured. What might have been an otherwise routine Saturday night became a defining moment for the people connected to Landon, Duke, Elijah, and Joseph, that night changed everything.

Investigators are continuing to examine what happened on Somerset Road. The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation, while accident reconstruction investigators and London Police are also involved. Authorities are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision, and the available information does not provide additional conclusions beyond the reported sequence of the vehicle entering the curve, leaving the roadway, and overturning, further findings may clarify.

Landon Mullins, Duke Weddle, and Elijah Hammons leave behind memories that extend beyond the few moments described in an accident investigation. Their lives were young, unfinished, and connected to families and friends who now have to carry their memories forward. As authorities continue working to understand the crash, those who knew the three young men are left with the moments they shared and the futures that, far too soon, will exist only in memory, their stories endure.