A 54-year-old Hahnville man died after striking a dump truck and being ejected from his vehicle on on I-55 North early Monday morning, Louisiana State Police say.
The wreck occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Monday on I-55 north, four miles north of I-10, and closed the interstate from approximately 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Dwayne Robert was driving his 2021 Jeep Gladiator north in the left lane of I-55 when he encountered a three-vehicle street sweeping convoy traveling at about 5 miles per hour, according to Trooper Kate Stegall, spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police.
The rearmost vehicle in the convoy, a dump truck, was passing when Robert attempted to switch from the left to the right lane. He drove his Jeep in front of an 18-wheeler and struck the impact absorber belonging to the dump truck in the convoy. The Jeep rotated before striking the dump truck’s side, police said.
Robert was ejected from his vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not determined whether Robert was intoxicated or wearing a seatbelt. Toxiology test results are pending. In a press release, police urged motorists to heed Louisiana’s “move over” law, which requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to emergency vehicles including highway workers.
Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this report.
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Source: https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_59a209e2-8de2-11ec-a8f0-1fa11926565a.html