Smoke from burning field blamed for multiple crashes — including one fatality
Published 12:30 pm Friday, October 7, 2022
- Associated Press Archives
Smoke from a burning field is believed to have caused multiple vehicle crashes Thursday that lead to the death of a Lake Arthur man near Kaplan.
Erin Matthew LaPoint, 26, died in an accident that occurred around 2:30 p.m. on La. 14 in Vermilion Parish.
A preliminary investigation found that a farming operation had been burning field edges near the highway which created smoke believed to have affected the vision of drivers.
Trending
At least three accidents occurred in the area at the time, including the fatality involving LaPoint — which police said may have been caused by road blockage from the first two accidents.
State Police said LaPoint was traveling west on La. 14 when he was rear-ended by a delivery tanker that had stopped due to the road blockage. LaPoint was then rear-ended by a pickup truck, crushing his vehicle between the two.
LaPoint, who was not restrained, died at the scene.
The drivers of the other vehicle were not injured.
The accident remains under investigation.