Deadly 10 days: 8 people died in wrecks across Central Louisiana's Troop E in early March
The first days of March saw a wave of traffic deaths in the 10-parish region of Troop E.
From March 1 to 11, eight people died in wrecks on roads in the Central Louisiana region patrolled by Louisiana State Police. The victims hailed from across the state and ranged in ages from 17 to 66.
Who died and how, according to Louisiana State Police:
Kerri Butts, 33, of Pollock, on March 1. Butts failed to yield to a 2021 Jeep Gladiator when turning from La. Highway 1241 on to U.S. Highway 167 in Grant Parish. He was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.
Emily Flores, 27, of Shreveport, on March 1. The three-vehicle crash happened when Flores crossed the center line of La. Highway 1 in Avoyelles Parish and sideswiped a 2010 Lexus R35 that was heading south. She then hit another southbound vehicle, a 2023 Dodge Charger, head on. Although she wore a helmet, she died at the scene.
Lekedrick Bowden, 39, of Monroe, on March 4. Bowden died on Interstate 49 in Avoyelles Parish when he hydroplaned, lost control of his 2018 Cadillac and was hit by a commercial vehicle he was trying to pass. He wore a seat belt, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pedro Flores, 61, of Glenmora, on March 4. Flores ran off the road while driving a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country on Evangeline Road in Rapides Parish. The vehicle went into a ditch and hit a tree. Flores was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.
Sylvonte Aldredge and Elijah Cundiff, both 17 and from Many, on March 5. Both were passengers in a 2010 Hyundai Sonata, neither wearing seat belts. The driver, 20-year-old I'Moni Cundiff, tried to pass a vehicle on La. Highway 6 at Sid Faust Road in Sabine Parish but hit a 2011 Honda Odyssey head on. Both Aldredge and Elijah Cundiff died at the scene, while I'Moni Cundiff and two other juveniles — also not wearing seat belts — suffered moderate injuries.
Diane Thomas, 66, of Coushatta, on March 6. Thomas was driving a 2005 Honda CRV eastbound on La. Highway 486 in Natchitoches Parish when she crossed the center line and hit a 2021 Honda Civic head on. Although she wore a seat belt, she died at the scene.
Michael Townley, 62, of DeRidder, on March 11. Townley was driving a 2004 Dodge Ram when he turned from BC Doyle Road onto La. Highway 3226 but failed to yield to a loaded log truck. He died when the truck hit his vehicle, even though he wore a seat belt.
Police: Pineville man dies after being hit by truck in Alexandria parking lot
Rapides Sheriff's Office: Wanted man leads high-speed chase along Interstate 49
Master Trooper Casey Wallace, Troop E's public information officer, said troopers' main goal is to prevent deaths like these from happening. There was no one reason connecting all these crashes, he said, questioning whether those involved made lapses in judgement, were in too big of a hurry or just weren't paying attention to conditions.
But Wallace said distractions inside of vehicles continue to be a "huge issue" now, especially because so many people are conditioned to use their cellphones without thinking much about it.
It's a muscle memory, he said, and not a good one for motorists.
"Technology is almost killing us, because it's too much, and they don't know when to cut it off," Wallace said. "We're forming bad muscle memory sometimes."
The Troop E region covers the parishes of Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, Vernon and Winn.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Louisiana State Police warn motorists of distractions after 8 traffic deaths
