According to the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, a car accident occurred around 8:10 a.m. on Jan. 23 on the Belle Chasse Bridge. The incident took place when a pick-up truck lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the metal grating on the drawbridge.
He was allegedly driving at high speed during rainy conditions. The force of impact into the grate caused his vehicle to strike into the guardrail and then catch on fire. At the same time, another vehicle that was approaching was unable to stop in time and slammed into the immobile truck. Authorities advised that no one in the second vehicle was seriously injured during the collision. However, one person died, and another was seriously injured in the collision. The injured party was taken to the Interim LSU Hospital in New Orleans and was treated in the trauma wing.
In a situation like this where a fatality has been caused by a car accident, police may talk to any witnesses who were present or conduct and accident recreation in order to better determine which events might have led to the accident. Since they believe that speed was a factor, it might be possible that the driver of the pick-up truck was responsible for the collision.
In cases like this, however, an injured person or one of their relatives might consult with a car accident attorney to assist in the case. The attorney might use the official police report to determine if financial compensation is a possibility to help the injured parties recover. Other conditions might be uncovered in the investigation. For example, if police retrieve the driver’s cell phone and discover that a phone call was placed at the same time of the car accident, he could be deemed responsible for the event.
Source: NOLA, “Fatal car accident on Belle Chasse Bridge leaves northbound LA 23 closed,” Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, Jan. 23, 2015
