Lafayette Man Pleads Guilty To 2015 Fiery Crash That Killed One And Injured Three

The man responsible for last year’s Mardi Gras crash in Lafayette that killed one woman and left three others injured has pled guilty to one count of vehicular homicide and three counts of vehicular injury. 25-year-old Bryce Chapman was driving drunk at over 100 miles per hour and struck Carol Richard’s vehicle. First Assistant District Attorney Daniel Landry says Richard was just on her way home from the grocery store.

“To cook her husband supper and was getting ready to make a turn when the defendant struck her vehicle from the rear causing it to explode and burst into flames.”

Landry says the crash caused Richard’s vehicle to explode and then collided with another vehicle with three people inside. He says Chapman is currently incarcerated, waiting for his sentencing on November 3rd and it’s pretty much up to the judge’s decision now.

“Our input is not considered to the point to where the judge considers the input of the victim’s family and as well as the factors surrounding the accident.”

Landry says Chapman faces up to 30 years in prison. He says Chapman is a first time offender but that likely won’t help his case.

“The fact that he was under the influence of alcohol and particularly the high speed which is a total disregard for the safety of anybody operating a vehicle on the streets.”