A deadly car crash occurred yesterday on Louisiana 134 yesterday. Proceeding east near the East Carroll-West Carroll parish line, the car containing a mother and her three children drove off the right side of the road, hitting two trees and becoming airborne. The car flipped and proceeded down an embankment, landing upside-down in Bayou Macon. The mother driving the car was killed, though her three children passengers were spared.
First responders and state patrol arrived on scene to witness the 1998 Ford Taurus partially submerged in the bayou. They had received reports there were people inside and rushed to free them. They were able to crack one of the doors open, saw the driver was unconscious and heard children’s cries from the back of the vehicle. A state patrol officer was able to pull a 3-year-old child out of the water and into an air pocket within the car’s interior while other rescuers cracked the trunk open to remove the child from that direction. The other two children – ages 12 and 6 – had escaped from the car after the crash and were awaiting help on the bayou’s embankment when help had arrived. The driver and mother of the children was later discovered to have died due to injuries sustained in the crash.
All three children were taken to Delhi Hospital where it was determined the 3-year-old had suffered moderate injuries and the two older kids had received only minor injuries. It is unknown as to whether the children had been wearing seatbelts, but it is certain the deceased driver was indeed wearing hers.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Toxicology tests are routine in cases such as this, and will lay to rest whether chemical impairment played any role in the incident – though such impairment is not suspected at this time. This fatal car crash marks the 33rd of its kind in Louisiana so far this year. 35 people have died in these 33 crashes.
Source: TheNewsStar.com “Bayou car crash kills 1, spares 3” by Zack Southwell, 10/15/10
