State authorities are in the process of investigating a fatal car accident that claimed the life of a 41-year-old woman. The woman appears to have been a passenger in a vehicle involved in a single-car crash. As with all car accidents of this type, Louisiana State Police will continue to investigate until a cause for the accident is discovered.
According to the information provided in the public report, a 48-year-old man was driving southbound on Interstate 55 with the 41-year-old woman in the passenger seat of his pickup truck when he lost control of his vehicle, causing it to crash into the left-lane concrete barrier. The disabled truck came to a halt and both occupants exited the vehicle. They were standing on the shoulder when another car, driven by a 42-year-old woman, struck the disabled truck and then the passenger.
The truck passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman driving the other vehicle suffered minor injuries along with her two passengers. Police said they detected intoxication on the part of the 48-year-old man. He was arrested on the scene and charged with DWI, careless operation of a motor vehicle and driving without a license. Charges against the other driver involved have not been filed.
If the male driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash, it likely was a factor in his losing control of the vehicle. It follows that had the initial crash not taken place, the series of events leading to his passenger’s untimely death would likely not have occurred. It is unclear whether police will file additional charges against him for his role in the fatality, but even if they do not, car accidents of this type can be taken to Louisiana civil court where wrongful death lawsuits can be filed against individuals whose negligence is claimed to have played a direct role in the tragedy.
