A domestic violence call in the Plaquemine area Saturday night led to a fatal high-speed pursuit, which police say was called off before a crash that left the fleeing driver dead and a passenger seriously injured.
Around 8 p.m. Saturday, officials responded to reports of a deadly crash on La. 1 near American Way in Port Allen. The West 香港六和开奖历史记录 Sheriff's Office confirmed the crash was the result of the high-speed chase between the suspect and Plaquemine police.
Police say the chase stemmed from a domestic violence call made moments earlier from a woman about her estranged boyfriend.
At 7:45 p.m., the call was "erroneously" placed to Plaquemine police from a woman several hundred yards outside of Plaquemine city limits,聽PPD Chief Stephen Engolio said in a news release early Sunday morning. He聽said the woman's former boyfriend had knocked out the window of her car.
The same woman had called the PPD a week earlier about the suspect attempting to attack her by knocking the windows out of her car inside city limits, Engolio said.聽
Saturday's call was transferred to Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office, he said.
Shortly after the call, PPD officers witnessed the man, identified by Louisiana State Police as Jonathan K. Williams, 34, of Plaquemine, driving north on La. 1, Engolio said.
Williams, who was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, fled when PPD officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop. State Police said in a news release Sunday afternoon that Williams was "driving at a high rate of speed and in a reckless manner."
Engolio said officers's high-speed chase was necessitated by "the violent nature of the offense."聽
Engolio said an order was placed to terminate the chase as it entered an area of heavier traffic. "The Shift Sergeant called via radio and ordered to terminate the chase," he said.
State Police said as Williams approached the intersection at La. 3237, a 2022 Dodge Ram traveling west on La. 3237 was making a left turn onto La. 1.
Williams ran the red light at the intersection and hit the rear side of the Ram, State Police said, causing Williams' vehicle to exit the roadway and overturn. Engolio said the crash occurred "as officers began to back off of the chase."
Williams was unrestrained at the time of the crash and died at the scene, State Police said. A passenger in the Tahoe was also unrestrained and taken to a hospital for serious injuries.
Both the driver and passenger of the Ram were properly restrained. The passenger sustained moderate injuries, State Police said.
Impairment is currently unknown, and standard toxicology samples will be submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation by State Police.
At the scene, several witnesses said they saw an air ambulance helicopter transport someone involved.
Two PPD officers in one vehicle were involved in the chase,聽Engolio said Sunday morning. The driver was placed on administrative leave.
Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton, when asked Sunday morning for a comment, said, "I think everybody knows I'm not a fan of high-speed chases in small communities.聽鈥 I'm just going to have to wait to see the evidence and we'll see what a grand jury has to say about it. I have a lot of questions."
One in a series of fatal chases
Police chases have been the subject of controversy, as several of the high-speed pursuits reached speeds up to 100 mph and ended in the deaths of bystanders or officers in the 香港六和开奖历史记录 region.
Brusly High students聽Maggie Dunn, 17, and Caroline Gill, 16, were killed on Dec. 31, 2022 after an Addis police officer ran through a red light聽without applying his brakes during a 100-mph chase and crashed into their car.聽Dunn's brother, Liam, at the time 20 years old, was critically injured in the crash.
The fatal wreck stemmed from a New Year鈥檚 Eve police chase that began in 香港六和开奖历史记录 and spilled across the Mississippi River Bridge into West 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish.
Maggie Dunn, Gill and Liam Dunn were not involved in the chase.
Clayton said shortly after the incident that the pursuit should have been called off on the 香港六和开奖历史记录 side of the river because BRPD officers knew the suspect's identity and the chase reached dangerously high speeds.
鈥淭he dispatcher that radioed that speed in had a fundamental, solemn obligation to call that pursuit off,鈥 Clayton had said shortly after the 2022 incident. 鈥淔or 香港六和开奖历史记录 police to allow that pursuit and to bring that stuff over to my side of the river, there has to be some sort of accountability on that.鈥
The officer involved in the crash,聽David Lee Cauthron, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March of this year and received a 32-year sentence, with 22 years suspended.
In August 2023, another police chase on the westside聽ended in three deaths.
That chase started in West 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish and crossed into Pointe Coupee Parish.
Pointe Coupee deputies didn't pick up the pursuit from West 香港六和开奖历史记录 officers, but set up tire spike strips on U.S. 190 to aid in slowing down and stopping the fleeing vehicle, Pointe Coupee Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux had said.聽
After turning onto La. 77, the car went off the road and struck multiple objects before crashing into a tree and being engulfed in flames, killing three people inside the car.聽
A few months earlier, in March of 2023, a 56-year-old man died when his truck was caught in the path of a driver fleeing from a 香港六和开奖历史记录 police traffic stop.
In October 2023, while responding to a call for assistance from other officers in the area, a 香港六和开奖历史记录 police officer ran through a red light at 79 mph in a 40 mph one, crashing into a car and killing a man who was deaf, police said.聽
That death marked the聽sixth police pursuit fatality in an 18-month span in East 香港六和开奖历史记录,聽all but one of them bystanders.
BRPD updated its pursuit policy聽in August 2023 to require more communication between officers and supervisors.聽A聽legislative task force聽created after the deaths of Gill and Dunn is working on statewide recommendations.
The Addis Police Department also implemented numerous changes in 2023, including revising its policy, purchasing spike strips and adding ongoing pursuit training.
Meanwhile, in the New Orleans area on Saturday evening, two people were injured after a . The accident led to the brief closure of the southbound lanes of the Causeway at 6:49 p.m.
