Washington Teen Dies in a Crash on I-49 Near Opelousas, Louisiana

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL) - Officials with Louisiana State Police say they are investigating another fatal crash this year.

The latest crash happened Monday night on Interstate 49. State Police Troop I Spokesman Thomas Gossen says an unlicensed 17-year-old girl named Jaquanta T. Jason was driving down I-49 at a high rate of speed.

Gossen says the young woman slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler cane truck. This happened at around 9 o'clock Monday night.

Officials with the coroner's office pronounced the young woman died at the scene. This fatal crash happened on I-49 southbound near mile marker 22.

The investigation into what happened is ongoing at this time.

There have been eight deaths in seven crashes just in the first three weeks of 2023. Monday morning a man lost control of his truck while driving down South Lewis Street.

For some reason, the man's truck went off of the roadway, flipped, and ended up in a canal.

The truck was then submerged, upside down in that canal. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sunday there was also a fatal crash on Riceland Road near Ridge Road in Lafayette Parish. The collision involved a utility vehicle which is not allowed on a public street.

The man driving the UTV died at the scene after his utility vehicle was hit from behind by a car on the roadway.

Trooper Thomas Gossen says it can be easy to think that because you are near a property you are familiar with, everything will be okay. Officials remind you that utility vehicles are only meant for off-road driving.