Authorities are investigating two separate fatal vehicle collisions in Acadiana. Although they occurred at two different locations, they shared some common elements.
The first one occurred in St. Martin Parish near Breaux Bridge, close to the intersection of Juleau Champagne Road and Anse Broussard Highway. The driver of a 2011 Camry, whose name was not released, apparently lost control of his vehicle and left the road. The driver was rushed to a nearby hospital due to serious injuries; a passenger in the car — 40-year-old Christopher Richard, of St. Martinville — was declared dead at the scene. Louisiana State Police officers said that neither individual was wearing a seatbelt. [Read more…] about Deuces Wild: Two Dead In Two Crashes In Two Hours
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The Long Road Back, Episode II
A young man we first profiled earlier this summer continues to make slow but steady progress as he recovers from a serious brain injury.
Doctors did not expect Luke Burnham to recover after a car hit him and threw him thirty feet in the air. Mr. Burnham arrived minimally conscious at a Houston hospital with crushed bones and a serious brain injury. About a month later, specialists recall that he could finally move his left hand. A short time later, doctors put Mr. Burnham on a self-pedaling bike, and his recovery started to gain momentum. Doctors released him from the hospital so he could begin classes this fall for his senior year at St. Louis Catholic High School, where he is now an honor roll student. Mr. Burnham’s short-term goal is to be free of his wheelchair in time to walk across the stage this coming spring; after graduation, he wants to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. [Read more…] about The Long Road Back, Episode II
Feds Assign Blame In 2013 Plant Explosion
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) ruled that workplace safety deficiencies at the Williams Olefins Plant in Geismar, Louisiana caused an explosion that killed two workers.
Specifically, according to the CSB, in the dozen years prior to the incident, management neglected issues with a over-pressure reboiler, which ultimately ruptured. The facility normally employs about 110 people, but roughly 800 people were onsite at that time, as contractors worked to expand the petrochemical plant. At the time, the reboiler was offline and not hooked up to its pressure-relief device, so the heat build-up lead to a BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion) and subsequent fire. Most of the 169 casualties (two dead and 167 seriously injured) were contractors.
In announcing the findings, CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said that “The tragic accident at Williams was preventable and therefore unacceptable. This report provides important safety lessons that we urge other companies to review and incorporate within their own facilities.” [Read more…] about Feds Assign Blame In 2013 Plant Explosion
Fireball 18-Wheeler Wreck On I-20
A motorist was killed when she collided with a large truck on Interstate 20.
The truck wreck occurred near Kilgore. According to police and witnesses, 62-year-old Melvin Edwards, of Shreveport, was operating his 18-wheeler eastbound in the outside lane when 77-year-old Amando Vega, of Chicago, Ill., pulled from the improvised shoulder onto the outside lane very close to Mr. Edwards’ truck. Upon impact, Mr. Vega’s car hit the guardrail and then ping-ponged back into the outside lane, where it became wedged between the large truck’s cab and trailer. The entangled vehicles caught fire and eventually came to rest on the improvised shoulder.
Mr. Vega was declared dead at the scene; Mr. Edwards was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he is expected to survive his injuries. [Read more…] about Fireball 18-Wheeler Wreck On I-20
Bus Driver Faces Multiple Charges After LaPlace Wreck
The man who allegedly caused three deaths in a bus crash in August of this year has been indicted on three separate counts of negligent homicide.
37-year-old Denis Yasmir Amaya-Rodriguez, a Honduran national, did not have a valid license when he allegedly lost control of a tour bus carrying workers to flood-damaged areas of Baton Rouge. Both at the scene and in subsequent interviews, Mr. Rodriguez claimed the brakes failed moments before he slammed into a St. John Fire District truck that was responding to the scene of an earlier collision. Three people were killed in the bus crash, including 36-year-old Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin. Mr. Rodriguez, who had a history of traffic infractions, claimed that the bus’ owner, Christian Lombardo of Kristina’s Transportation LLC, knew that he did not have a valid license. “I even told him, ‘I don’t want to drive because I don’t have a license to drive these large vehicles here,'” he recalled saying. The company did not inspect the bus before the trip, Mr. Rodriguez added.
In addition to the three deaths, more than two dozen people were injured in the incident. [Read more…] about Bus Driver Faces Multiple Charges After LaPlace Wreck
Survey: Drunk Drivers Abound On Area Roads
Lafayette ranked second on a list of the 100 cities with the most fatal alcohol-related crashes; Shreveport was no. 39, New Orleans was no. 40, and Lake Charles was no. 47.
Last year, eight of the thirteen fatal vehicle collisions in Lafayette were alcohol-related. That 61.5 percent mark was second only to Cape Coral, Florida (70 percent). Moreover, the per capita death rate in Lafayette (0.627) was more than twice as high as the rate in number three Providence, R.I.. Most of the cities on the list, like Lafayette, have populations under 200,000 and are not in urban areas. Study authors theorize that such communities have a higher number of impaired drivers, because of less-developed public transportation, as well as hospitals that are generally smaller and have fewer resources than the ones in big cities. [Read more…] about Survey: Drunk Drivers Abound On Area Roads