A motorist made a grisly discovery on a Louisiana expressway in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. Police in the Big Easy are searching for a vehicle that is believed to have struck and killed the deceased victim. Photos taken from video cameras in the area where the car accident took place were recently released of a four-door sedan that is dark in color.
From the available evidence, it was surmised that this vehicle struck the pedestrian and that the driver then fled the scene. Horrifically, the man was dragged approximately four miles before the driver either noticed and removed the body or it was dislodged from the vehicle. Until the vehicle and its driver are found, that question may not be answerable.
The dead man’s macabre journey began near Decatur and Dumaine Streets in the French Quarter, where he was struck. Witnesses reported that after the accident, the vehicle disappeared after making a couple of turns, including one that put the vehicle heading in the wrong direction. The vehicle then traveled the four miles across the Central City Connection to the area of the West Bank Expressway, where the body was discovered approximately 30 minutes later. New Orleans police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to contact a fatality investigator working the case or Crimestoppers.
The family of the victim in this deadly car accident will undoubtedly have many questions regarding the last minutes and hours of their loved one’s life. Perhaps some of their questions can be answered through the filing of a wrongful death claim against the driver once he or she is located. If his family establishes negligence on the part of that driver, a Louisiana court could consider an award of damages, which may ultimately provide them with some sense of closure along with restitution for monetary damages.
Source: nola.com, “Hit-run victim dragged from French Quarter to Algiers, police say”, Richard A. Webster, Jan. 1, 2016
