An 18-year-old is dead and a 37-year-old alleged impaired driver is in jail after a crash on I-55.
According to Louisiana State Police Troop B spokesperson Sgt. Kate Stegall, the crash happened just before midnight Friday night near the Ruddock exit in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Stegall says the victim, Mohammad Zidan, of Harvey, was riding in a car when the driver pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and stopped after becoming ill. As Zidan was switching sides with the original driver, another vehicle hit Zidan and the car he in which he was riding. Zidan died at the scene. The car’s original was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. A third person in the vehicle was not injured.
The driver of the other vehicle sped away from the scene. According to Stegall, investigators used witness information to identify the suspect vehicle and its driver. They found that driver, Lawrence Darensburg, of Jefferson, in Ponchatoula shortly after the crash. Stegall says the arresting troopers determined that Darensburg was under the influence of a substance, but she did not say if Darensburg was impaired by alcohol or narcotics.
Troopers arrested Darensburg on vehicular homicide, second-offense DWI, felony hit-and-run, and other charges.
