A 32-year-old Breaux Bridge man faces homicide charges after hitting three teenage girls with his pickup truck on Oct. 30. Authorities allege he was driving approximately 55 mph in a 25-mph zone at the time of the accident.
According to Louisiana State Police, the man was going eastbound on Martin Street in a Ford F-150 around 7:30 a.m. when he struck three teenagers who were walking to school. A 15-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 14-year-old girl died en route to St. Martin Hospital in Breaux Bridge. A third girl suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. She was later listed in stable condition.
After hitting the girls, police said the man continued driving east on Martin before striking a utility pole and entering a ditch near Babineaux Street. He was transported to a hospital in Lafayette where he was listed in guarded condition. Upon his release, he will face two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular negligent injury and charges of reckless driving, no insurance, resisting arrest, no vehicle inspection sticker, expired license plates and no driver’s license.
Authorities said the man is an Army veteran who fought in Kuwait and Iraq. He will undergo psychiatric testing to see if post-traumatic stress disorder played a role in the incident.
When someone is killed in a car crash caused by a negligent driver, the victim’s family may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation for funeral costs and more. An attorney could use police reports and crash reconstruction techniques to help a decedent’s family build a strong civil case against the driver who caused the auto accident.
Source: KCTV5.com, “Driver in crash that killed 2 girls walking to school set to undergo psych evaluation”, Nov. 5, 2014
Source: NOLA, “Breaux Bridge man facing 2 counts of vehicular homicide in fatal crash“, Quincy Hodges, November 01, 2014
