Alleged Drunk Driver in Prairieville Slams Into Ambulance, Not Booked Into Jail
There was a scary scene on the interstate in Ascension Parish over the New Year's holiday. An alleged drunk driver smashed into an ambulance heading to a hospital in Gonzales.
The crash happened on I-10 near Highway 73. State troopers say that Louis Long III was taken into custody and charged with second-offense DWI, following too closely, and driving without a license.
"We were traveling between 60 and 70 back and forth, and the vehicle was estimated going 100 miles per hour and struck the back of the ambulance with a patient on board," Justin Cox with Acadian Ambulance told WBRZ in Baton Rouge.
Thankfully, the patient was not hurt, however, one of the paramedics received minor injuries.
"Because of the re-enforcements that these ambulances are built to, the outcome was better as far as protecting the patient and paramedic in the back of the ambulance at the time," Cox said.
Long was taken into the Ascension Parish jail where he blew a .131. In Louisiana, the legal driving limit is .08.
According to the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, it was the trooper's discretion to not book Long into jail. Instead, he was given a summons to appear in court on March 2, 2021.