The report also said that the 41 people with minor to moderate injuries were hospitalized for treatment.
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According to state police, a 2005 Nissan Titan driven by Javontris Lawson was traveling too fast for the slick road.
State police said around 6:40 am, a single auto accident occurred when a truck driven by 30 year old Javontris Lawson of Marrero lost control and hit a left guardrail.
After striking the left guardrail, Lawson must have overcorrected, because the truck slid across both lanes of traffic and struck the right guardrail. The chain reaction crash caused the three Louisiana firefighters to be knocked over the guardrail.
The right lane was blocked by a fire truck, and a trooper’s unit was just ahead of the fire truck with emergency lights activated.
Louisiana State Police and the St. John the Baptist Fire Department responded to, and were protecting, the crash scene. The bus veered into the right lane, hitting three firemen who were investigating the original vehicle wreck, bolting them almost 30 to 40 feet over the guardrail and into the water below them.
Louisiana State Police say a Honduran man who had entered the United States illegally was driving a bus that hit a firetruck on an elevated highway, killing two people and injuring dozens.
In addition, firefighter Nicholas Saale, 32, of Ponchatoula, and William Mack Beal, 35, of Gonzales, were transported to a local facility. The firefighters were thrown over the edge of the interstate into the water, a fall about 30-40 feet.
One of the firemen, District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin, was taken to an area hospital, where he was declared dead, she said.
“They were individuals that were being transported from New Orleans to the Baton Rouge area to assist with the flood recovery”, said Matey. The firefighters had used one of their trucks to block the right lane of the interstate so they, police and the towing company could deal with the crash. Tate was rushed to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, having suffered serious injuries. Two other passengers in the auto, Vontravous Kelly and David Jones, both also from Moss Point, were sent to an area hospital for treatment. Kelly is in critical condition and Jones is in serious condition, police said. “The other rear seat passenger, Jermaine Starr, was pronounced dead on the scene”.
“It is a sad day in St. John the Baptist Parish as we lost one of the bravest and most dedicated firefighters that I know”, parish president Natalie Robottom said in a media release.
Louisiana state troopers and St. John the Baptist firefighters were at the scene of an accident in which a speeding pickup truck had hit a guard rail on I-10 shortly before 7 a.m. today, Matey said.
Rodriguez will be booked into the St. John Parish jail under various charges, including two counts of negligent homicide, reckless operation, and driving without a license.
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But the asphalt was wet, and authorities said the truck’s tires likely lost traction as a result of the disastrous combination of excess speed and slippery roads, according to a statement by Louisiana State Police.
