11-Year-Old Opelousas Catholic Student Killed In Wet Weather Crash
July 11, 2012 3:09 PM 
(KPEL) — An 11-year-old Opelousas Catholic School student is the victim of a fatal crash in Evangeline Parish.
Louisiana State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons says 44-year-old Julie Banks of Mamou was driving her Ford pickup truck east on Highway 104. Hammons says Banks lost control of the truck in a curve, drove off the road, and hit a tree.
There were three passengers in the truck. A 12-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy, and 11-year-old Alyssa Guillory. All of them were wearing their seatbelts, but Alyssa was pronounced dead at the scene. The two teens were transported to an area hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.
Hammons says Tuesday’s wet weather may have played a factor in the crash.
“We want to stress the importance to people of slowing down anytime you’re on a wet roadway,” Hammons says. “The Louisiana law requires that you reduce your speed during times of inclement weather.”
According to Hammons, the rainy weather this week has caused a number of accidents throughout Acadiana, and he urges drivers to use more caution.
Alyssa is the third student from Opelousas Catholic School to be killed in a crash this year. Morgan Adams and Sarah Jarrell were killed just three months ago; they were pulling out of a driveway when another car crashed into theirs.
The crash remains under investigation.
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